


Three For A Girl

by Zapino



Category: Troyler - Fandom, Troyler RPF, Video Blogging RPF, Youtube RPF, Youtubers
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Established Relationship, Family, Family Fluff, Fluff, Humor, M/M, One Shot, Parenthood, Romance, Sequel, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-23
Updated: 2015-12-23
Packaged: 2018-05-08 18:29:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 26,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5508269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zapino/pseuds/Zapino
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Troye never considered the possibility of having children. With insecurities brewing under his skin, he makes some decisions that could lead to devastation. Will he be strong enough to keep Tyler by his side even when he's struggling to understand his own feelings? Will Tyler still love him enough to stay?</p><p>*This is a one-shot sequel to my chaptered Troyler fic, "Escort"*</p>
            </blockquote>





	Three For A Girl

**Author's Note:**

> A/N
> 
> Finally. It’s here. This took way longer to write than I thought. I had first planned to publish it, if not on, then close to the moment when “Escort” hit 250k reads on Wattpad. Yeah… that plan was reevaluated pretty quickly… This sucker is a long one, boasting a proud 27k words, and it came into being mostly over the spare moments I’ve been able to find during tired nights after work and busy weekends. Those two are the reasons why it’s taken me this long to finish, and I truly apologize for the wait. I really hope it was worth it in the end.
> 
> It can probably be read as stand-alone if you haven’t read the main story that it follows up on. There might be a few question marks, though, so I recommend that you read “Escort” first to get the full effect!
> 
> The song played near the ending is "I'm Making Believe" by Ella Fitzgerald & The Inkpots.
> 
> I really hope you enjoy the read! I’m looking forward to hearing what you think, so please do leave a comment if you can and I’ll see you soon again! <3

_Yet nothing is so radiant and so fair_  
_As for souls childless, with desire sore-smitten,_  
_To see the light of babes about the house._  
\- Euripides 

‘*’ ‘*’ ‘*’ ‘*’ ‘*’ ‘*’ ‘*’ ‘*’ ‘*’ ‘*’ ‘*’ ‘*’ ‘*’ ‘*’ ‘*’ ‘*’ ‘*’ ‘*’ ‘*’ ‘*’ ‘*’

 

An ear-splitting shriek startled Troye into hunching his shoulders. He reached up to cover one of his poor, abused ears with the hand that wasn’t holding his glass of lemonade.

Perhaps he should have asked for something stronger.

He grimaced as his eyes followed the whirlwind of blonde hair when it whizzed passed him, narrowly missing him before continuing on.

Caspar was running around the house at breakneck speed, cutting passed his guests in tight corners and sharp turns, all in tune to the shrill screams of utter elation from his three year old nephew, who sat perched on his uncle’s shoulders, tightly gripping his hair.

Vigilant eyes followed their dare-devil race with reasonable concern; there’d already been a moment of collectively drawn breath when Caspar’s considerable height had had his nephew just barely missing the top of the doorframe by half an inch as they’d swept through into the kitchen, merrily unaware of how close they’d come to giving their game a tragic ending, while the ones who watched began weighing the pros of adult diapers.

“Watch it, Caspar!” the blonde girl beside Troye shouted after the whirlwind, rocking an infant in her arms. “He’s perfectly okay with playing on ground level too!”

Theodora - or Theo, as she insisted on being called - was in L.A. with her family to visit her brother and to scout out some of the suburban, more family friendly neighborhoods. Her fiancé Andrew was a fairly successful entrepreneur who was used to travelling, and they had warmed to the States during shorter visits. Now, they were considering the potential of doing like Caspar and trying on life in California for a while, at least while the children were young and hadn’t had time to become rooted yet in friends and school.

Besides Henry - who was currently sat astride his uncle’s neck - the latest addition to the Lee clan was barely seven week old June, now resting in her mother’s arms after her latest meal. Troye struggled to remember a time when he’d seen Caspar any prouder than when he got to talk about, let alone introduce everyone to his niece and nephew.

When Troye and Tyler had arrived to the Sunday dinner get-together, Caspar had flung open the door a split second after their knock, as if he’d been waiting just on the other side. Grinning widely, he’d then practically shoved them through to the living room so they could meet his sister’s children, all but ignoring the sister in question, her partner, and the rest of the great unwashed that were gathered in the room.

Troye had waved at Sawyer, his girlfriend, and Joe where they were sat on the couch, before politely shaking hands with Theo and Andrew. He’d shared a knowing smile with them at Caspar’s behavior, wordlessly communicating through a long look.

Tyler, however, had grinned along with Caspar and quickly knelt on the floor next to Henry, him too ignoring the others. Interrupting the rather violent outcome of a game of chicken between two toy cars, Tyler had ceremoniously greeted the boy as if he were royalty. Henry had giggled at the funny man who was making his arm jiggle up and down, and reached for Tyler’s hand once he’d started to withdraw it, laughingly hiccupping “Again!”, to which Tyler had responded with an even more rigorous shake and a repeat of the grandeur greeting.

Troye had laughed along with the others at the boys’ increasing giggles, but smiling more at his boyfriend than at Henry’s enjoyment of their game. There had been a light in Tyler’s eyes as they followed Caspar’s merry chase with Henry, one that Troye had never seen before and that had yet to leave even now as they stood talking to Theo and Andy about their potential relocation from South Africa. It was as if a new star had been lit deep within Tyler’s gaze; a small, almost unnoticeable twinkle among thousands of others, yet clear and bright and there to be discovered by those who went looking. It had made Troye’s chest fill with an inexplicable warmth to see that light. He’d never had the chance to see Tyler around children before, and now that he had, he found that he quite enjoyed it.

A sudden crash from the kitchen made all conversation halt. Everyone waited with bated breath for any other sound to emerge, and it came soon enough in the form of a wail, starting out low but rising quickly in pitch and volume. Troye cringed slightly as he saw Theo and Andy share a look.

“It was only a matter of time,” Andy sighed, already making his way towards the kitchen while Theo turned to Troye.

“I have to help do damage control. Here, hold your arms like this,” Theo instructed Troye, who was too startled to do anything but comply. He formed a little cradle in front of his chest, and soon enough, there was a warm, wobbly miniature person resting in his arms.

Staring wide-eyed down at the sleeping infant, Troye stood stock still and held his breath, afraid to move even the slightest lest he’d drop the precious bundle. The tiny little girl weighed absolutely nothing, yet felt substantially more solid than the dolls he and Sage had played with when they were little. The rapid, sometimes audible sighs of her breathing were another clue that she was quite real. Her little lips fluttered back and forth in a tiny pout, as if she was suckling for food even in her dreams. Troye figured that babies as small as June probably did little else than eat, sleep, and soil their nappies for someone else to take care of... When he thought about it, it actually didn’t sound like a bad existence at all.

“You _are_ allowed to breathe, you know,” Angelique sniggered from her seat on the couch, with Sawyer’s arm slung over her shoulders. The two of them were grinning at Troye, to which he responded by looking pleadingly at the only woman in the room to come help him. Not that he wasn’t aware of how sexist that might be…

“The last time I held a baby this small was when my brother was little,” Troye explained in a stage-whisper, “and that was sitting down with a pillow in my lap and mum watching like a hawk. I don’t know what to do.”

Just when he was about to start shaking from the tension in his arms, a steady hand swept down over the plains of his back, the familiar warmth of it seeping through the thin cotton of his shirt. It came to rest on his waist as Tyler stepped in close to his side, eyes focused on the little girl while Troye lifted his head to look at him.

“I think you’re doing wonderfully,” Tyler said in a hushed voice as he reached up to lift the corner of the soft blanket that was partially covering the baby’s face. He tilted his head to have a better look. “She seems perfectly happy to me.”

A wide smile followed his words and he lifted those weirdly twinkling eyes to Troye’s, who only then realized he’d been staring. The look in Tyler’s eyes, along with the little creases that appeared at their corners when he smiled, made Troye all but forget to be nervous about the baby he was still holding.

There was something in Tyler’s eyes, like a meaning or a feeling that felt important for some reason, and Troye struggled to wrap his head around what it could be. Coming up empty, he released a shaky breath as he fell deeper into Tyler’s gaze.

Tyler was standing so close that he heard the sigh, and his eyes fell to Troye’s lips a split-second before he leaned in. Troye’s eyes fell closed on instinct and he could feel Tyler’s fingers flex gently at his waist as their lips met softly a moment later.

The kiss itself wasn’t anything extraordinary. It was the sort of regular meeting of lips, with barely a hint of movement behind them; the kind that couples would normally share outside of more intimate moments. Yet somehow it felt different to the ones they usually shared while out in the open like this – the regular kind that held more of an assurance of their love and a quick sort of _Hello_ , or _Did you miss me (even though I’ve been sitting next to you for the last hour and a half watching TV)?_ This felt more like an _There’s something I would really like to say, but I’ll try to say it with a kiss instead of words when we have an audience_.

Whatever the intention behind the press of Tyler’s mouth against his was, the supple lips were gone far too soon to try to decode it. When Tyler pulled away, Troye’s eyes fluttered open to see the smile still there, if a bit softer, and the glimmer of a message in Tyler’s eyes growing steadily more urgent. He couldn’t explain why, but it made Troye’s heart speed up, though, not with joy this time. Instead, it began to fill him with unease, as if he was suddenly under a great, if unintentional, amount of pressure.

The sound of a shrill “Aww” coming from somewhere in front of them made Troye blink and return to the present, looking from his boyfriend to the people reemerging from the kitchen.

Caspar was staring at them, as were Andy and even Henry, whose blotched little face was peeking carefully out from where it was pressed against his father’s shoulder, eyes still glistening and red-rimmed from recent tears. Theo, who was the source of the gushing sentiment, had her head tilted and her hands lifted to cover her heart while smiling at them in an overly sweet and knowing way. It made Troye want to squirm.

“Ah, my heart!” she cooed with great enthusiasm while scrunching her face up in a look of adoration, one usually associated with people seeing pictures of wide-eyed kittens and fuzzy polar bear cubs. “That is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen,” she continued, nodding along with her own words as if stating a universal fact.

Troye saw Tyler duck his head, and looked at him to catch a dusting of color bloom across Tyler’s cheekbones and up over the tips of his ears. The smile he still wore turned just this side of goofy and in an instant, Troye wasn’t sure were to look anymore. He dropped his gaze to stare at June just in time to see Tyler look searchingly at him out of the corner of his eyes, and tried to think of something to say instead.

“She’s adorable,” he offered in a whisper and didn’t really have to force the small smile that formed on his lips as he allowed himself to really look at the precious little girl. He felt Tyler’s hand stroke his waist.

“And giving you a fair run for your money, gorgeous,” Tyler chuckled quietly against his cheek before kissing it lightly.

Troye heard Theo produce a strangled squeal so high-pitched it probably made all the dogs within a five miles radius stand at attention. He ignored it in favor of glancing at Tyler with a lifted eyebrow, affecting sarcastic confidence before he whispered, “Did you just compare me to a newborn?”

“Well,” Tyler smiled beatifically, “since said newborn is the only other thing in the room worthy of comparison to how lovely you are, then yes, I guess I just did.” He held Troye’s eyes in a long stare again, and once more, Troye once more felt like he was missing something significant.

But before Troye could collect himself enough to start figuring out Tyler’s – admittedly not that unusual, yet still greatly exaggerated flattery – Caspar interrupted his thoughts.

“Why are we whispering?” he asked in a whisper of his own, looking from Troye and Tyler to his sister with a blank expression of genuine bewilderment.

Troye barely held back from rolling his eyes at his friend. “Because I don’t want to wake her up,” he insisted quietly and nudged his head to indicate the sleeping baby in his arms.

“Oh, please,” Theo gushed at a regular volume, which ended up like a boom after the previous hush. Troye winced, convinced that June would start crying any second.

“With a brother like Henry,” Theo continued, “you could bring her to a thrash metal concert and she wouldn’t even blink. She sleeps through anything.”

Giving it a moment, Troye eventually relaxed a bit more, seeing how June hadn’t reacted at the sudden rise in volume. “Oh,” he said and lowered his gaze again. The warm weight of the tiny body in his arms actually aided in calming him, making him feel responsible in making sure the baby was kept safe and secure. “That’s good, I guess.”

“It’s when you start whispering around a baby that you’re in trouble,” Theo added and lifted a finger as well as her eyebrows at them. “You two better be sure to remember that when you start having kids of your own!”

Troye stilled and felt his eyes widen in shock. “Our… Our own?” he repeated, feeling suddenly out of breath. A brewing panic gathered force somewhere deep in his chest, and Troye slowly began to wonder what breathing was, because he was sure he’d forgotten in the time it took for Theo’s words to sink in.

“Yes, your own,” she insisted with a smile. When Troye continued to blink at her stupidly, she giggled. “Oh, come on, you guys were practically made to be parents, anyone can see it! You’ve at least talked about it, right?”

Troye’s heart was beating so fast that he was starting to see spots swim at the edges of his vision, and he was all at once grateful yet terrified of Tyler’s hand, which was still holding him steadily.

“Actually, we haven’t.” Tyler’s tone was tinged with slight bewilderment as he turned to look at Troye again. Troye just kept staring at Theo, however, afraid to do much else while Tyler continued, “But now that you mention it, I don’t think we’d mind—”

“Us? _Parents_?!” Troye interrupted, unable to keep the edge of hysteria from his voice, and laughing breathlessly through what he tried to make seem like an amused smile. He really didn’t want to hear what Tyler had been about to say; not then and certainly not there.

They hadn’t discussed anything even remotely to do with procreation yet. For fuck’s sake, they’d only finished debating whether to get a second car or not just last week, and here Tyler had been ready to give their friends all sorts of ideas about plans they hadn’t actually made.

Troye’s head swam at the thought.

Having kids. With Tyler. Having kids with Tyler _in this actual lifetime_.

A cold sweat was breaking out on his back. Troye struggled to keep both himself and his smile from shaking as he stepped forward on wobbly legs, away from Tyler’s touch, to hand the baby back to her mother.

Too much. It was _too much_.

“No, no, we’re really not ready for that. _God_ , no. And don’t go putting any ideas into his head, either.” He nudged his head toward Tyler and tried to laugh at his attempt at humor while Theo set about transferring June from his trembling arms to her own. She was regarding him with an appraising look, her face having fallen serious at his outburst.

Troye’s cheeks hurt from the strain of his smile. “I think we’ll leave the baby-making to those who know what they’re doing, thank you very much.”

As if helping to prove his point that he wasn’t one of those people, he couldn’t stop himself from pulling out his arm from underneath June’s head when it was almost free, too eager to distance himself from her and all thoughts of children as quickly as possible. June startled and gave a short little yip when the brisk movement jolted her head. The tremble of her bottom lip turned into a frown, and her eyebrows scrunched up a mere second before her mouth opened on a cry of indignation at having been awoken so abruptly.

Theo instantly began to rock her arms up and down, trying to hush her wailing cries while making her way over to one of the lounge chairs beside the sofa to try to comfort her baby with a meal. Even underneath the piercingly loud crying, an awkward silence was settling in the room like a dark, heavy cloud, and Troye lowered his gaze to avoid meeting anyone else’s. Especially Tyler’s.

He didn’t have the heart to turn around to look at him, knowing that what he’d see couldn’t possibly be anything good. Not after shutting down the topic so abruptly when Tyler hadn’t seemed to mind it at all – the reverse in fact. Not after taking the liberty to speak for them both like that. And not with the way even Caspar seemed to be reluctant to say anything. He was clearing his throat carefully and silently plucking Henry from his father’s arms to go play with the Lego’s spread out over by the patio doors. As his heart was still beating wildly, now from another type of anxiety, Troye felt like the biggest asshole in the world.

Dinner was a slightly muted affair after that, even though Troye could tell that everyone was trying to laugh and smile as lightheartedly as usual. And he tried to join in, he really did, but his smile felt stilted and his shoulders grew tenser as the afternoon wore on. Tyler was being unusually silent too, something he rarely was. That made it all the more palpable that something was wrong, even underneath the fairly easy-going conversations.

After dessert had been served and eaten, the candles on the table had burned down to short stumps, and Henry had long ago nodded off curled up in his mother’s lap, Troye and Tyler called it a night. They bid their goodbyes to the host and his family in the hallway with long hugs, and followed Sawyer and Angelique out to their respective cars, promising to meet up again soon before driving off in different directions.

The drive back home was quiet, with Troye trying to make himself invisible in the passenger seat while Tyler seemed fully focused on the road ahead. It wasn’t that Tyler seemed angry, though – not at all. When Troye eventually dared break the brittle silence to ask what time Tyler was going in to work the next day, Tyler replied perfectly normally and even with an added little smile in Troye’s direction. But if there was something Troye knew about his boyfriend of nigh on two years, it was that he could be a good actor when he wanted to. It was a mix between a curse and a blessing that it didn’t matter in the end; even despite Tyler’s best efforts, Troye could still see right through his efforts. He wasn’t at all as okay as he wanted to let on.

After becoming a couple, way back in what seemed like ages ago, Troye and Tyler had quickly found their way into a secure, loving relationship. Troye trusted Tyler further than anyone, even his own parents, and loved him even deeper. He knew Tyler felt the same way about him. Even while they’d had somewhat of a rocky start, with truths left unspoken to the point where it had almost torn them apart before they’d even given each other a chance, the rest of their time together had been all the more unshakable because of it. And lord knew the grounds certainly shook when they had their rows, yet they always came out unscathed and stronger on the other side after each and every one. This one thing shouldn’t be as big of a deal as Troye’s conscience was trying to make it out to be.

Any further conversations were kept short, yet comfortable enough as they walked in through the front door and began puttering about the house to prepare for the coming week. He still felt bad beyond words but eventually, Troye allowed himself to slowly relax into the familiarity of their Sunday routine of household chores, and he noticed Tyler doing the same.

Occasionally, they even exchanged a gentle smile or a quick kiss when they happened to cross paths here and there. Tyler even managed a cheeky squeeze to Troye’s ass at one point, to which Troye squawked in feigned indignation, trying not to giggle, and swatted after him with one of the towels he’d been carrying to the linen closet. Tyler hurried off into the kitchen with a laugh and a saucy wink over his shoulder. The smirk on his lips made Troye sigh in wistful happiness. Tyler was doing his best to put him at ease, and Troye wondered what he’d ever done to deserve such a perfect man in his life.

Troye sighed again as he turned to stow away the towels, daring a thought of what could lie ahead. Perhaps a little family of his own. Children... It wasn’t like he had never imagined himself having any. Of course he had. He was pretty sure most people did at one point or another. It wasn’t this totally foreign idea that had been suddenly flung at him out of nowhere.

Still, he couldn’t help but feel like it kind of was, though. Foreign. Like a concept still so far in the future that it might as well never come to be. The reminder earlier had been unexpected; it had come out of nowhere, and in the haze of instinctive reaction, of “fight or flight”-mode, he’d reacted with the latter. Perhaps it was even a good thing that he had, since it forced him to finally think about it. He just wished he hadn’t been so blunt.

It was while they were getting ready for bed later on that some of the earlier tension returned to the silence. Troye tried to catch Tyler’s gaze in the bathroom mirror as they stood side by side brushing their teeth, but Tyler avoided eye-contact by pretending to be busy inspecting his own face up close by leaning over the sink. While Troye knew that his boyfriend was very mindful of his appearance, the way he was currently poking at seemingly random places all over his forehead and cheeks was quite clearly in an effort to avoid talking, not to look for non-existent wrinkles.

After finally giving up on trying to gain Tyler’s attention, Troye shook his head in defeat and focused on finishing his bedtime routine instead of trying to start a serious conversation with his mouth full of minty foam. Tyler stayed silent as they undressed at the foot of the bed, both focused on their own buttons and socks. When climbing in between their soft sheets, he still didn’t say a word.

For the first time in a long while, Troye hesitated once he’d pulled the covers up to his shoulders, unexpectedly unsure if Tyler would want to cuddle like they always did. It was a strange feeling to suddenly not really know. He only had time for a few seconds of hesitancy, however, because that’s how long it took before Tyler’s hand reached out, searching for him beneath the covers, and pulled him closer once he’d located him all the way over on the other side of the bed.

Troye felt his heart stutter into a regular beat once more as he snuggled into Tyler’s side, fitting his cheek onto a warm shoulder and settling his arm across a broad chest while twining their legs together. Tyler turned to press a kiss against his forehead, the gesture loving yet palpably reserved, before relaxing back against the pillows and breathing out deeply in relaxation.

But Troye couldn’t quite relax, not enough to sleep anyway. Thoughts and worries were churning in his head, making it hard to even close his eyes. He stared unseeingly at one of the dark corners of the room for what felt like hours. Despite the relaxation in the body he rested partially on top of, he knew Tyler wasn’t sleeping either. His breathing was too controlled and measured.

“I’m sorry,” Troye finally braved in a low murmur, one corner of his lips pressed against Tyler’s skin and making his words slur a bit.

Tyler’s deep intake of breath made Troye lift slightly with the rise of his ribcage. The hand that held him stroked up over his back, moving back and forth slowly as if trying to soothe him.

“For what?” Tyler’s voice held a measure of curiosity, but it was still obviously guarded; he knew exactly what Troye was talking about. Perhaps he just didn’t want to be the one to say it. Or maybe he was pretending not to know to make Troye think he wasn’t bothered by it.

Troye figured it’d be easier not to sidestep it any longer. “For how I acted earlier.”

“There’s no need to apologize.” The hand on Troye’s back settled on his waist again, thumb continuing the short little strokes.

Troye tilted his head back to glance up at Tyler’s face, studying the faint outline of his profile in the darkness. “There is, though,” he insisted, “and I’m sorry for saying those things.”

Tyler swallowed visibly before asking: “Then why did you?”

Bending his head to press his cheek against Tyler’s collarbone once more, Troye sighed heavily at the guilt that curled afresh in his gut. “I panicked.”

Tyler hummed in response, but didn’t say anything further. Troye took his silence as a sign to continue.

“It’s just that we’ve never talked about it, you know?” He paused to try to find the right way to word his thoughts. “Starting a… a family is kind of a huge step.”

“I know that,” Tyler cut in. He didn’t sound irritated, however.

“Of course – I’m not saying you don’t,” Troye hurried to explain. “And maybe it’s hard to believe after what I said today, but I’ve always wanted to have kids some day.”

“The key words being ‘some day’… Right?” Tyler’s voice was so low that Troye felt it as a rumble through his chest.

“I think so,” he said just as quietly, suddenly sad that he couldn’t give Tyler a better answer than that. Not right now, anyway.

For a long couple of minutes, there was nothing but the sound of their breathing – except for Troye, who had Tyler’s heart beating steadily beneath his ear.

“Making you uncomfortable is the last thing I want,” Tyler broke the timid silence. “But can I just tell you my view on this?”

“Of course,” Troye said with emphasis. “I want you to. And you won’t make me uncomfortable.”

The hand on his waist resumed its slow rise and fall over the skin of his back. As if it was at all possible, Troye snuggled a bit closer.

“When I started hustling all those years ago, I kinda gave up on the thought of having a family of my own,” Tyler explained. “That kind of life isn’t compatible with dreams of a future like most people imagine theirs. I never thought I’d end up in a situation where the possibility would even arise. But then I met you.”

Troye felt his lips stretch, suddenly glad that Tyler couldn’t see his face, lest he’d be able to see the sadness hidden underneath his smile. He turned into Tyler’s chest and pressed a quick kiss to his skin, because, honestly, could he be any sweeter? The arm around his back gave a short squeeze in return, before Tyler continued.

“Please don’t think I’m trying to pressure you into anything, and we don’t have to have kids to be happy. It would just be nice to know that the option is there, that we’re not closing the door on it in case we happen to change our minds at some point. I mean… I turn 30 in a few weeks.”

At that last bit, Troye’s smile fell in time with the way his heart sank into his stomach.

“So there’s a time limit.” He didn’t even bother making it sound like a question, and he felt Tyler shake his head at the accusatory tone he couldn’t quite keep from his voice.

“Absolutely not, that’s not what I’m saying at all—”

“No, I know. What you’re saying is we aren’t getting any younger.”

“I mean, yeah… I guess.” Tyler whispered, clearly regretful that he wasn’t able to deny it.

Not wanting to come off as frustrated or angry, Troye lowered his voice into a murmur as well. “I’m not even 24 yet... What if I never feel the longing for a family? What happens if we end up wanting different things?” Suddenly afraid of where his own mind was going, he could barely gather enough air in his lungs to whisper the rest. “Would you leave me?”

He held his breath. Giving voice to that one, secret fear of his made Troye’s stomach squeeze uncomfortably, and he could feel his body tensing up more with every passing moment, when Tyler interrupted the impending rush of unbidden thoughts.

“No. I wouldn’t leave you, Troye.” Fingers hooked under Troye’s chin and tilted his head back, putting him face to face with Tyler, who was looking at him with a gaze so intense he could almost feel it, even in the darkness of their bedroom. It was clear from the vehemence behind his words that Tyler meant every single one of them. “I love you more than anything, and nothing will ever change that. Nothing.”

The sinking feeling in Troye’s gut eased significantly, making him able to breathe again. He leaned in and gave Tyler a lingering kiss – filled with all the gratitude and adoration he held for him – before settling back against him, letting the conversation trail off into whispered reassertion of his own love as Tyler continued to hold him close.

Yet it took a long time before Troye could relax enough to find sleep, even while he was kept warm and secure in Tyler’s arms. And he knew exactly why that was.

Short and infinitesimal as it had been, there had been a pause between Troye’s question and Tyler’s answer… Even if it was for mere moments, Tyler had hesitated.

He knew it was borderline mad to start reading into something that was probably just coincidental and most likely meaningless, but that hesitation was enough to send Troye into a state of apprehension that would set a great deal deeper than he’d first thought.

-x-

Over the course of the following two months, the topic of children became a source of tension between them. They didn’t bring up anything they’d talked about that night again, but that didn’t take away from the fact that they still, somehow, managed to be reminded of it every other day. It seemed like there had never been so many hints and references to having kids and starting families as there seemed to be just then, and every which way they turned, they were constantly bombarded with it.

It was starting to drive Troye up the wall, if he was completely honest. It wasn’t just the reminders that did it, though. It was the effect they had on Tyler’s, as well as his own, behavior around each other.

They had been cuddling on the couch together on a lazy Saturday afternoon not long after their discussion, enjoying a rom-com they’d stumbled upon on one of the movie channels, when there was suddenly a baby-shower playing out in the movie.

The shift in mood had been immediate. As soon as the screen had been filled with squealing women holding up cute little baby clothes and tiny pairs of shoes, Tyler had abruptly stopped chewing on his mouthful of popcorn and gone very still. Troye, who’d been leaning into Tyler’s side, couldn’t help but mimic the stiff posture, afraid of moving when Tyler wouldn’t. The tension had been so thick it could have been cut with a knife as the scene unfolded in front of them. Tyler had swallowed thickly, and none of them had breathed easily again until long after any mentions of pregnant ladies were gone from the plot. Neither had said a word about it, both pretending that it’d never happened.

That had been the first of many clues that children, especially the prospect of having any, were a no-go topic from then on. Consequently, they didn’t mention Caspar’s niece and nephew during the next Sunday dinner, and neither did Caspar, Sawyer or Angelique.

And so it went for a couple of weeks, resulting in moments when things were more or less strained between them; sometimes painfully obvious and sometimes so fleeting it seemed to have hardly happened at all. 

All while that was going on, Troye was growing more and more unsure of himself and, sadly enough, of Tyler and their relationship too. He knew deep down that it was ridiculous of him to question what they had, that there was nothing to worry about, and that he was being so stupid and could hurt Tyler a tremendous amount if he ever so much as hinted about his sudden doubt… But he couldn’t help it, and that just made him all the more agitated.

If anyone would have asked him to put his feelings into words, he would’ve struggled to do so. Yet Troye was positive that Tyler had started acting different somehow and that it was getting more and more noticeable. He just seemed unable to relax completely, as if he was on edge, but not so much so that Troye could call him out on it. It was almost like he was a bit thrown, or quietly mulling things over.

Troye was fairly sure that the cause was all that stuff about kids, which only helped to scare him even further. He tried to think of ways to settle his nerves, to hold off the future just a _little_ while longer, even while they were dancing around the issue like cats on a hot tin roof.

One such idea manifested in another tense moment – one which could have ended worse than it actually did. It happened during an ordinary night at the dinner table, when Troye was toying with the idea of a pet; as a starter of sorts, a warm-up for having children later on.

He scraped distractedly at the remains of his lasagna with his fork, probably looking like he was contemplating how to solve world poverty with how lost in thought he was. It was only when Tyler pointed out as much, trying to catch Troye’s gaze from across the table, that Troye looked up quickly, as if woken from a deep sleep.

“Everything okay?” Tyler chuckled, his smile carefully encouraging.

“How ‘bout a dog?”

Troye’s unexpected question apparently caught Tyler off guard, making him blink in stunned silence for a moment.

“Huh?”

“Y’know…” Troye shrugged, the casual gesture not quite able to hide how silly he was beginning to feel when what he’d said finally caught up with him. “I was just thinking that maybe we could get a pet, like a dog or something… y’know…” he trailed off awkwardly, shifting in his seat and going back to looking at his plate, where the prongs of his fork made little parallel pathways in the marinara sauce.

“Yes, I know what a pet is.”

Troye wasn’t able to tell by Tyler’s voice if he was annoyed or sarcastic, so he had to look up again to see Tyler smiling patiently back at him.

“Why this sudden wish for four-legged company?” Tyler asked, his smile growing while he set his spoon down to reach for his glass of water. Troye shrugged again, looking off to the side for a moment.

“I don’t know. Just... Besides actually wanting a dog, I also kinda figured it could double as good practice,” he offered as explanation while lifting his eyes back to Tyler. When Tyler’s brow knitted in confusion, Troye cleared his throat. “You know… Practice for other, _bigger_ responsibilities further down the line?”

Tyler’s expression switched from confusion to a startled stare, and he was probably taken aback by Troye’s casual mention of the-thing-which-must-not-be-acknowledged. After staring at Troye for long seconds, Tyler cleared his throat too and slowly set his glass back down.

“Oh,” was all he said in response, before the desperate pleading in Troye’s eyes must have made him aware of the pressing need for him to elaborate. “I mean, you know I adore dogs… But are you sure that’s a good idea?”

There was something in the way that Tyler’s smile seemed slightly hesitant, with both his tone and a look on his face that was bordering on skeptical, that made Troye’s mood drop instantly. Perhaps getting pets weren’t such a good idea if his partner doubted that he’d even thought it through properly.

“No. Actually, I’m not.” Troye knew that he sounded petulant, but he didn’t care right then. “Forget I said anything.”

“Hey!” Tyler exclaimed, looking increasingly more affronted by Troye’s sudden change in attitude. They didn’t fight often, but when they did, things tended to heat up quickly. “I’m just asking.”

Loosing the flare of temper fast, Troye closed his eyes in disappointment at himself and his stupid mouth. He sighed, running a hand down over his face and stopping to rub at his tired eyes. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to –” He shook his head slowly. “I’ve just had a lot on my mind lately, with work and all; it’s not your fault.”

A delicate silence settled around them. Troye rested his forehead in his hand while he listened to Tyler’s slowly calming breathing from across the table.

“So… you _don’t_ want a dog?”

The timidly spoken question made Troye lift his head again. And then he wasn’t able to hold back a soft chuckle when he saw the guileless look on Tyler’s face as he blinked back at him in growing confusion.

“I’m sorry,” Troye giggled, reaching out to cover Tyler’s hand with his where it rested against the tabletop. “I’d love to get a dog, but I’m just being stupid. We really don’t have to. They’re time-consuming and require a lot of attention and care. I work all day and you’ve got night shifts – who’s gonna walk the poor thing when neither of us are home?”

“We could probably figure it out—” Tyler began, but Troye interrupted before he could elaborate. 

“It’s okay, babe. We’re probably better off without one for now.”

It might have been the light of the setting sun pouring in through the window and playing tricks on Troye’s mind, but Tyler looked almost a little scared when he nodded and said hesitantly, “If you say so…?”

“Don’t worry.” Troye smiled a bit wider at the growing relief on Tyler’s face. “I’m sorry for just flinging that on you.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry for.” Tyler slowly smiled back. “And you’re not being stupid – just your regular overanalyzing, adorable self,” he said with a wink as he picked up a slice of tomato off his plate and popped it into his mouth with a contented smile.

Troye felt a lot better after that, suddenly more confident that perhaps Tyler hadn’t been acting different at all, but that it was probably Troye himself who had been projecting his inner turmoil onto his surroundings. The days following that dinner were filled with a lot more smiles and spontaneous make-out sessions than they’d seen in what felt like a long time. Troye was even starting to think that maybe children weren’t such a horrid idea after all…

And then the phone calls started. 

Okay, so maybe there weren’t enough of them to warrant their own epithet – “the phone calls” made it sound like they were an every day occurrence. They weren’t. Maybe there were a total of five phone calls which Troye knew about.

Except it wasn’t necessarily just phone calls. It was _sneaky_ phone calls. And a few texts. And angling the phone so that Troye couldn’t see the screen as easily. And sidling off into the other room to have hushed conversations with people who remained unnamed and undisclosed. And maybe Troye would have been able to see past all of that, if it wasn’t for the fact that Tyler didn’t even _try_ to be sneaky about it. Or at least it didn’t seem like he was, which only served to confuse Troye further. If Tyler couldn’t bother to be surreptitious enough to make it any less than obvious that looking at his phone was suddenly a priority rather than finishing chopping the salad, or pushing the cart in the grocery store, then he wasn’t sure if he should be worried or miffed.

Troye really didn’t want to be the mistrusting boyfriend – the sort that checked his partner’s recent calls and contact list. He didn’t want to be someone that breached that trust. So, consequently, he didn’t.

But he _did_ walk in on Tyler talking on the phone one evening. Troye was on his way to their “guestroom slash office slash random storage space” to ask Tyler where he’d put the keys to the car, when he stopped short just upon reaching the threshold. Tyler’s back was turned towards the door, leaning back in the swivel chair and scratching lazily at the back of his head while laughing quietly.

“I guess I’ll just have to owe you one, for old time’s sake. How’s that?” Tyler chuckled into the phone, his voice going almost husky with the way tried to keep it down. “Oh, I’m sure we can arrange something…”

The whole image was just so casually flirtatious that it struck a painful cord inside Troye, and he held his breath, trying to swallow the nausea rising from his gut. He only caught the very end of the conversation, though that was quite enough. Once Tyler was done laughing at whatever the person on the other end had said, he sat up a bit straighter and picked up a pen to take notes on the little baby-blue notepad they kept there just for that purpose.

Suddenly overcome with a feeling of acidic betrayal, Troye barely held back from crying out for Tyler to stop that, to stop dirtying _their things_ with traces of illicit affairs! That baby-blue notepad was something they’d gotten on impulse at the kid’s section of a dollar store, and only because Tyler had insisted that the cartoon teddy that was holding a heart in the top right corner of every page reminded him of Troye.

“Yes,” Tyler said attentively and began scribbling. “Alright… What— yes. What’s the address? … Okay, got it.”

Tyler leaned back again, putting the pen down and seeming to listen intently. “No, yeah, I’ll do it tomorrow. I don’t want to draw any more attention than I already have, if you get me? ... No, I don’t think he’s got a clue, and I wanna keep it that way.”

Troye nearly gasped at Tyler’s way of talking about him in such a blasé manner, and he could feel his entire body heat up in a sudden flare of indignation. He was still scared out of his mind, but there had always been something about the way Troye reacted when he was under great emotional stress – he grew somehow brave, finding unexpected strength to face something that frightened him. Tyler had, on multiple occasions, said that he was proud of that side of Troye, since it had served as Tyler’s wake-up call once upon a time. Well, only time would tell how he liked it now.

The sight of Tyler leaning forward made him tense up even further. Crossing his arms over his chest, he could feel his gaze darkening as Tyler finished the call and stood, ripping the top paper off the notepad and folding it quickly. He had nearly turned all the way around when Troye found his voice.

“Who was that?”

Tyler yelped, shock flashing across his features as his entire body jumped. His head snapped up to aim wide eyes at Troye, before closing his eyes and sighing in relief.

“Jesus fucking Christ, Troye!” he panted breathlessly and clutched dramatically at his chest with the hand that still held his phone. “Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”

“No,” Troye said flatly, not interested in dallying. “Who were you talking to?”

Tyler lowered his hand and stowed the phone away in a pocket, seeming to stall for time while he stared expectantly at Troye, looking like he was waiting for him to make a point. “Tom.”

Troye nodded slowly, keeping his gaze steady on Tyler. “He’s back from his trip to Nepal?”

“Mm-hm,” Tyler nodded back, smiling tightly. “Came back earlier this week.”

“So, what did he want?” Troye pressed insistently.

“Oh.” Tyler blinked. “He just called about some details on a deal,” he said with a shrug.

Troye narrowed his eyes. He knew very well that Tom had on previous occasion been in business with the bar Tyler ran, since Tom had his own wineries and all. But wasn’t that just a little convenient? What Troye had just heard sounded like nothing to do with any alcoholic beverages. He couldn’t think of a single reason why a business deal would have to be kept secret from him.

Not wanting to start a fight about it right then, however, Troye reluctantly went along with Tyler’s explanation, if only for show. Deep down, he knew something else was up, even as he nodded silently and turned in the doorway to set about getting ready for bed.

But he also knew that he was nearing dangerous territory. It would be detrimental to any relationship to be as suspicious and jittery as he was being at the moment. The good, trusting way to do things would be to talk to Tyler about it, to explain his fears and ask his boyfriend to help stave them by telling him they weren’t true, and that it was all in his head. Because Troye knew that that’s exactly what Tyler would do, and it was one of the many reasons why he loved him as much as he did. Tyler wouldn’t do the things Troye was thinking. He just wouldn’t.

But what if he would?

What happened if, in some cruel twist of fate, Troye’s fears were actually founded? He dreaded to even let himself think about it, but he couldn’t stop the idea from festering once the seed of doubt had been planted. At the end of the day, he _had_ met Tyler while he was still working a morally questionable and not very relationship-friendly occupation. To anyone who didn’t know them very well, it probably didn’t seem all that strange to think that Tyler would eventually grow bored and start looking elsewhere. They had, after all, been together for almost two years now. Troye imagined that for someone like Tyler, who’d been used to making his own rules and living life as he pleased, it might as well have been a lifetime.

-x-

The breaking point came one Friday not long after Troye had started to really feel the effects of the stress he was putting himself under. It was an unusually warm day in the first week of April and Troye was out to lunch with Caspar to get some well-needed air after a long morning inside. The slow yet continuous drop in Troye’s mood as of late had started to become obvious, so when Caspar suggested the shaded patio of an ice cream parlor (because that’s obviously a nutritious lunch alternative) not that far from the office, Troye had accepted on the prospect of a brief change of scenery. 

Troye hadn’t told Caspar what was weighing on his mind, though. Not that he usually shared any of his more private relationship details with his friend, but… well, he just didn’t have to. Caspar may have never been the brightest crayon in the box, but he was still able to understand what Troye felt and thought better than Troye himself sometimes did. He just hoped it wasn’t as obvious to anyone else and that Caspar was just some sort of savant when it came to reading emotions, unlikely as it might seem.

Once they’d settled on one of the tables lining the wall outside, Caspar didn’t wait long enough for Troye to even taste his milkshake before launching into the blunt questioning he’d obviously been planning all along.

“What’s wrong with you lately?”

Troye lowered his cup with a long suffering sigh. So much for a break from his depressing state of mind.

“Do we really need to do this now?” he asked with a feigned air of boredom. The truth was that his pulse was starting to speed up with rapidly building unease.

“Yes, we do,” Caspar implored from across the table, pausing in the devouring of his cone of double Italian chocolate. “Something’s up, and it’s starting to affect even _my_ mood. You know it’s gone on for too long if that happens,” he said while tilting his head to point his ice cream as well as a meaningful look at Troye.

Picking up his napkin, Troye dabbed at his mouth uselessly in order to stall the need for a reply. It only gave him something to do for approximately ten second, though, before it was beginning to look a bit ridiculous.

“I…” Troye played with his straw, not even sure where to start. “There’s just… Tyler has just been acting odd, and I don’t know what to make of it. I mean, I have my suspicions but… It’s scary to think about.” He had no idea why he was being this forthcoming with his feelings, though honestly, he did feel a little better after saying it out loud.

“Have you talked to Tyler about this?”

“No.” Lowering his gaze to stare into his lap, Troye flushed a bit, knowing how ludicrous that was. “I should, I know that, but it’s not as easy as it might seem.”

Looking up to see Caspar lift an unimpressed eyebrow at him, he went on to explain what had happened; from all the way back at Caspar’s dinner, to only four nights ago, when Tyler had emerged from the kitchen after another one of his mysterious texts, obviously struggling to keep a self-satisfied grin from growing on his lips.

While he spoke, Caspar seemed to all but forget about his ice cream, and by the time Troye finished, there were droplets trickling down the cone and threatening to reach Caspar’s fingers.

“I can’t believe you.” Caspar shook his head. Troye frowned in confusion before his friend continued, “If you’ve somehow triggered this whole thing with your sniffling, I swear to heaven above…” he trailed off menacingly, shooting Troye what was probably supposed to be a fear-inspiring glare. It lost a bit of the intended bite when the first dribble of chocolate lost the fight with gravity and rolled over two knuckles at once before splashing onto the white table underneath Caspar’s hand.

Troye bristled. “Why would you assume it’s something _I’ve_ done? Whose side are you on, anyway?”

“Both of yours!” Caspar hissed under his breath and leaned forward over the table. Troye sent a tight, apologetic smile to the small group of teenage girls who were giving them sidelong glances from the neighboring table.

“You guys are the best thing to ever happen to each other, and I am not about to let you ruin that!”

Stilling at Caspar’s outburst, Troye wondered if he should be angry or if he should burst out laughing at the absurdity of that statement. After a moment of indecision, he chose the former.

“If anyone’s ruining anything, it’s him!” he whispered as heatedly as he dared without risking to draw more attention to himself from the other patrons on the patio, holding his hand up as if to shield what he was saying from the girls. “He’s the one who’s cheating on me! I would never-!”

He stopped short when Caspar suddenly leaned over sideways, placing his unoccupied hand on the edge of the table for balance as he bent to look underneath. Turning his head this way and that, he seemed to be searching for something on the decked floor.

“What are you doing now?” Troye asked in exasperation, letting his forearm drop to the table with a dull thud, all anger leaving him in one exhalation.

“Looking for your marbles,” Caspar said from under the table. “You seem to have lost them somewhere… I’m sure you had them at some point in all the time we’ve known each other.”

Troye rolled his eyes. “Can you at least try to be serious for once? I’m actually really worried here!”

Sitting up quickly, Caspar frowned at Troye, who in turn was grateful when his friend actually made a conscious effort to keep his voice down. “I _am_ serious! I’m as serious as I’ve ever been. What the hell have you been telling yourself in order to think that Tyler would do something like that?”

“I don’t know, okay? It’s not just the calls and stuff, it’s a feeling I’ve had too… You know those gut feelings people get?” Troye prayed Caspar would get what he meant. And was it really too much to ask for Caspar to sympathize with him for once?

Caspar shook his head and lifted the ice cream to swipe at it with his tongue, off-handedly remarking in between licks, “You should see a gastroenterologist.”

Troye shook his head in disbelief at the way his friend was acting, refusing to acknowledge him and his worries. “Do you even know what that means?”

“Of course, I do.” Apparently, it was Caspar’s turn to roll his eyes. “Not all blonds are dumb, sweet cheeks,” he said with an air of superiority.

“I’ve told you to stop calling me that,” Troye growled before drawing a deep breath. “And you don’t have to tell me; I’ve just got one at home who seems pretty dead set on driving me insane right now, that’s all.”

Caspar stopped tending to his ice cream for a minute and leveled a patient stare at Troye, one which shone of the sharp mind that resided behind the usually ditzy exterior. “Just talk to him, will you? I promise- no, I _guarantee_ that this whole thing is just in your head.”

Troye drew a deep breath and let his eyes fall to where he’d started fiddling with his straw again. “Alright, I’ll try to bring it up tonight. Have your sofa at the ready just in case.”

“Sure, but you won’t need it,” Caspar said with confidence.

Keeping his gaze lowered, Troye nodded slowly and wished he could be as certain as Caspar about that.

He decided to leave work a little earlier that day and walk home to clear his mind of distractions instead of hitching a ride with Caspar like he normally would. Choosing a route that would take him across a small park, he hoped the open space would give him some room to think. In deep thought, he strolled home at a leisurely pace, his hands in his pockets and his head bowed to stare at his feet.

This was all growing out of proportion, way beyond what was reasonable, like a slowly infesting wound with a scab that you just couldn’t stop picking at. Caspar was indeed right; they needed to talk about this, and soon. That same night, preferably. Though, he had to tread cautiously when he brought it up to Tyler. The topic needed to be lifted in a way that wouldn’t come off as accusing, but would still lead to the core of the issue. 

He didn’t really pay any notice to his surroundings until the paved path lead him passed a fenced playground. The beautiful weather had brought out some local families to gather around the swing sets, see-saws, and jungle gyms, and Troye regarded them slowly as he walked by. The motley crew mostly consisted of what he guessed was a mix of nannies, grandparents, and stay-at-home parents watching over children of all ages while chatting and laughing among themselves. Even the cackling of three frenetic magpies who were in the process of eradicating an abandoned bag of fries nearby was drowned out by shrieks of delighted laughter from the kids. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the warm day together, and Troye found himself smiling slightly from the infectious happiness.

A sudden wail rose from a place near the fence around the playground, breaking the chorus of joyful sounds with one of misery. Troye looked up to see a little boy holding himself up on all fours, his face scrunched up in a grimace. He went oddly quiet while drawing a deep breath, gathering the air needed to release a cry of much stronger volume than before. The boy couldn't be more than 2 years old, and he sat there, completely still, with heavy tears rolling down his red cheeks as he waited for help to arrive.

While his heart clenched in sympathy for the boy, who'd probably scraped his palms as he fell forward, it also occurred to Troye how vulnerable children that age were; how they’d be completely left to their own fates unless someone stronger came to their rescue and helped pick them back up again when they fell.

Feeling his brows knit in a slight frown at the thought, Troye realized that grown-ups needed that help sometimes too. In fact, Troye was in desperate need for Tyler to do something similar for him right then.

A man, not that much older than himself ( _Tyler's age_ , his mind provided helpfully), rushed over to the boy and picked him up briskly, timing it with a noise he made to sound like a rocket launching off on a mission to space. The boy hesitated in his cries for a moment, unsure of whether he should continue expressing his displeasure or not. When he decided to go on crying and scrunched his face back up in preparation, the man – his father – held him close to his chest and lifted one hand after the other to kiss them better, bouncing him slightly on his arm. The boy hiccupped and watched with fixed interest as his boo-boo’s were somehow magically tended to. 

Troye faltered in his steps as he watched the man go on to wipe tear streaks off reddened cheeks and pull out a handkerchief to wipe the boy’s nose tenderly. The way that the child instantly calmed down at his father’s comfort set something off inside of Troye, like a pain tugging at his chest – no, at his soul – and the reason behind it was as undeniable as the pain was sharp: he wanted that.

He wanted what that man had. He wanted to be someone like him, someone who comforted his children when they were hurt, who made them smile again, and took them to the local playground on sunny days. And there it was; the feeling he had thought he’d possibly never get to experience. Perhaps it had been there all along, but he’d been unable to recognize the signs. Suddenly, the fog cleared from his mind and he realized with a blinding clarity that what he wanted was to be a father. And he wanted to be a father with Tyler right there by his side.

Troye’s vision blurred as he stared at the man’s back as he walked away, carrying the boy towards the swing set, both of them none the wiser that they’d been observed. Blinking rapidly, Troye almost started at the feeling of a tear quickly skidding down each cheek, surprised by its appearance.

This new knowledge… it was as if a valve had opened inside him, making it seem impossible that he’d ever wanted anything else than to start a family with Tyler. Would Tyler still want that with him? If Troye’s suspicions were founded and Tyler had indeed begun to stray, surely knowing that Troye wanted to build a future with him would make him want to stay after all? Troye could forgive him, he really could; it wasn’t Tyler’s fault that Troye had been stupid enough to start pushing him away…

Wiping roughly at his eyes, Troye drew a shaky breath and tried to focus. He couldn’t break down, not there. He had to keep his composure until he got a chance to tell Tyler everything he’d just realized and he needed to see him as quickly as humanly possible to make it all right again.

Filled with a new determination, he set off down the path again at a brisk pace, even speeding up into a run at times in his eagerness to move faster. He prayed that he hadn’t already managed to ruin everything beyond repair.

After what felt like an eternity, he finally reached their apartment complex and took out his keys on his way up the stairs, fumbling with them because of the way his hands shook. Tyler usually caught a ride with Korey on Fridays, leaving the car at home so that Troye could join them at the bar when he’d freshened up after work. That was the reason why, upon discovering that their door was unlocked, Troye abruptly stopped moving. 

Gulping heavily, he sent up a silent prayer that Tyler had merely forgotten to lock after himself when he left for work earlier and that there wasn’t a burglar in their home. Troye carefully removed his key and reached up to turn the handle, his heartbeat speeding up. He cracked the door open a few inches, peaking inside the empty hallway. Nothing appeared to be out of place.

Braving the seemingly empty apartment, he gingerly stepped inside, closing the door behind him and listening for any noise. “Hello?” he called out, cringing as he realized that that wasn’t the smartest move in case they were being robbed and the person was still in there.

Not a second later, muffled clattering sounded from the bedroom, making Troye jump and quickly shuffle backwards until his back pressed against the door. Breathing shallowly, his heart was beating so hard it was about to leap out through his mouth.

“Who’s there?” His voice was a mere meep, and he knew it was a silly question. He could be seconds away from getting stabbed by a crazed robber, yet there was still hope… kinda.

Troye heard the bedroom door slam shut, followed by hurried footsteps that moved quickly through the wardrobe lined hallway connecting it to the living room. Troye could see the opening from where he stood at the front door, and he reached for the handle in case he needed to make a run for it.

A blink of an eye later, a blond man appeared in the doorway and stilled upon seeing him. It took Troye a moment to realize that it was Tyler, looking decidedly ruffled and staring back at Troye with wide eyes.

Forgetting all about running from potential robbers, Troye frowned in confusion, and was just about to ask what was going on, when a second bumping noise came from behind the closed door to the bedroom. Tyler’s shoulders tensed and he wasn’t quite able to keep a small cringe from making his features twitch in reaction.

Feeling his eyes grow wide with horror as the worst possible explanation dawned on him, Troye went instantly cold.

“What are you doing home?” Tyler was still staring at him from where he seemed to have frozen in place in the brightly sunlit living room, a few paces in front of Troye.

Troye clenched his jaw so hard his teeth ached. “What are _you_ doing home?” His heart was beating a mile a minute and his grip on the door handle was so tight that his arm was slowly beginning to shake from the effort, all sorts of answers to the question beginning to flash through his mind.

“I asked first,” Tyler said and attempted a smile. It quickly took on a strained quality, however, and fell when Troye didn’t even blink in response.

All he could focus on was tightening his fists and holding back from crossing the room to find out exactly who was hiding in their bedroom, _soiling the sanctimony of their home_ , and beat them to a bloody pulp. That was, if he didn’t do it to Tyler first.

“I’ve got the night off,” Tyler continued after a tense silence. “I just hadn’t planned on you being home this early. I wanted to have more time...” He broke eye-contact and rubbed at his neck while his eyes flitted around the room nervously.

Troye used the brief respite from staring Tyler down to blink several times in order to keep sudden tears at bay. Ignoring the way his heart squeezed, as if it was slowly cracking and falling piece by crumbled piece to the floor at his feet, he glanced towards the bedroom.

“Who’s in there?” he whispered, hoping that the hitch in his voice wasn’t obvious.

Tyler looked back at him quickly as realization flashed across his face. “No one! I mean, it’s not a-… Oh sweet Jesus, Troye, it’s not what you think,” he said and lifted his hands in a placating manner. 

When Troye frowned and opened his mouth to ask just what the hell it was then, another crash sounded from the bedroom. It made him pause and glance at the wall next to them before focusing back on Tyler to give him an incredulous look.

Tyler’s eyes widened and he quickly moved forward, hands still held aloft. “Alright, wait! There’s something I need to tell you!”

“ _No shit_?!” Troye shouted, and was just as surprised by his violent outburst as Tyler, who winced at the volume and heat behind his words and halted in his steps. But Troye didn’t regret his inability to keep the acidic feeling of betrayal from making him snap. It was there to aid him again when Tyler made to come closer, taking a step and freezing again when Troye added a cautioning, “Don’t!”

Tyler drew a deep breath, casting his eyes down to the floor in front of him and visibly gathering his thoughts, while Troye fought to calm his breath as his hands clenched convulsively.

“Listen, Troye, I know what this must look like,” Tyler began, lifting his eyes back to Troye’s and making a vague gesture towards the bedroom, “but honestly, it really isn’t what you think. I can see that mind of yours jumping to all sorts of conclusions, so stop it.” Troye pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes.

Tyler tilted his chin down and aimed a pointed stare at Troye before continuing, “I… I’ve thought about this a lot lately, and I think we’re ready for things to change.”

A tight, compressing feeling filled his chest, and Troye barely registered that he was shaking his head from side to side, let alone speaking in a low murmur. “No… No, no, please don’t. Tyler—”

“Wait,” Tyler held up a hand, halting Troye’s words, “let me finish.”

“No! Please, listen to me, I have something I need to say—” Troye was growing desperate, and he was completely unaware of moving until Tyler interrupted him again, making him stop in the doorway to the living room, only a few feet away from the love of his life.

“Troye! Would you calm down and just hear me out?!” Tyler raised his voice and gave Troye a look bordering on annoyed exasperation, and Troye’s heart crumbled a little more at the casual dismissal. 

Tyler waited a moment, as if checking Troye’s cooperation, before continuing. “I just feel like, maybe it’s not enough anymore. You and me… Perhaps we need something else? Something more?”

Hearing himself give a pathetic little whimper, Troye gripped at the edges of his shirt to hold back from lunging forward and throwing himself around Tyler’s neck in desperation. The burning that had been building behind his eyes won the battle at last, and the tears spilled over for the second time that day.

“ _Please_ …” he whispered thickly, hoping beyond hope that he’d somehow misunderstood; that Tyler wasn’t about to suggest that they went their separate ways.

“Which is why…” Tyler trailed off, not seeming to notice Troye’s tears, and lifted a finger before he ducked back into the hallway to the bedroom. Not knowing what to think, Troye finally couldn’t hold back quiet whimpering as he closed his eyes, waiting on unsteady feet for the inevitable breaking of his heart.

There wasn’t enough time for him to prepare, to gather strength before the sounds of feet shuffling across the carpet in front of him told him that Tyler was back. He whimpered again at hearing Tyler’s softly urging voice.

“You can stop thinking the worst of me now, Troye. Open your eyes.”

Reluctantly, and with tears now continuously rolling down his cheeks, he did.

And then he gasped, not quite believing what he was seeing.

Standing before him, wearing an apologetic smile and biting his lip in uncertainty, stood Tyler. But not just him. Resting securely in his arms and studying Troye with keen, curious eyes was a small, crème colored dog.

“What-...?” Troye sniffed, his breathing uneven from crying, even if he’d stopped abruptly in his surprise. “What is this?”

“I’ve gotten us a puppy,” Tyler smiled shakily. 

Troye’s gaze flickered between Tyler and the dog he was holding. It reminded him of a lab in size and look, despite its short crème and white fur. It was wagging its tail, hitting Tyler across his lower ribs with a continuous row of muted thuds, and its floppy ears perked up as Troye drew a hitched breath. 

He lifted a hand to cover his mouth, whispering from behind it, “A-… a puppy?” He would have felt stupid for asking the obvious, if it hadn’t been for the fact that he still couldn’t really comprehend the sight before him.

Tyler nodded, still eyeing Troye cautiously. “We’d just come home from the shelter when you showed up. I was setting up her bed and… Well, I wanted it to be a surprise, so… Surprise, I guess?” He lifted the dog a little in emphasis, and she tilted her head back to give Tyler a broad, wet lick across his chin.

All Troye could do in response was shake his head in disbelief, staring wordlessly at the dog, which seemed perfectly content where she was, one hind leg dangling off of Tyler’s forearm. This was the last thing he’d expected; in fact, the thought that Tyler had been getting them a pet hadn’t even crossed his mind once. He’d been so caught up in his suspicion that he could be seeing someone else behind his back that the truth was suddenly too much. He wanted to be happy about the puppy – and he was – but all he could focus on right then was the sensation of immense relief that was coursing through him, making him lightheaded.

“She doesn’t have a name yet. I thought I’d leave that up to you to decide.” Tyler’s words woke Troye from his thoughts, and he blinked as he lifted his gaze, one lone tear clinging to his bottom lashes before slowly trickling down his cheek.

“So…” Troye said, interrupted by a hiccupping breath. “You-you’re not leaving me?”

A frown flittered across Tyler’s brow and he tilted his head as he stared at Troye with growing concern. “Of course I’m not leaving you! Why would I ever want to do that?” The worry on his face settled deeper as Troye gave a despondent sigh. “Have I given you reason to think that I would?”  
Troye shook his head again, his voice going shaky and rising in pitch when he was overcome by a fresh bout of tears, this one fueled by his own uncertainty and self-doubt. “I thought you’d met someone else!”

“Oh, Troye,” Tyler said, his voice steeped in sympathy as he quickly bent over to set the puppy down on the floor. It gave a short whine in protest, but Tyler ignored her as he straightened up to open his arms. “Come here, baby.”

And Troye did, a weak little sob leaving him as he hurried into Tyler’s embrace. He let his face fall into the crook of his neck, crying silently while Tyler brushed his hands over his back in long, soothing strokes. Rocking them slightly from side to side, his soft hushing helped to slowly calm Troye down, his breathing evening out. On the floor, the puppy whined again and circled their legs, trying to wedge its nose in between them, almost like it wanted to be part of the embrace.

“Why would you think that?” Tyler urged gently after a while.

With a sniffle, Troye lifted his head and squinted at him through eyes now puffy from crying. “Because I said I wasn’t sure about having kids?”

“Troye,” Tyler whispered, his eyes flickering between Troye’s as he reached up to cup his face in his hands, letting his thumbs brush up over Troye’s cheeks to wipe away his tears. “My lovely, gorgeous, _beautiful_ Troye… I would never cheat on you.” His fingers stilled at Troye’s hesitant nod. “You have to know I’d never treat you like that, and I have to say I’m a bit sad that you don’t have more faith in me.”

Troye nodded again and blinked at him through tear-soaked lashes. “I’m so, so sorry, Tyler, I do know that. I just thought that, since I said all that stuff, I’d started to push you away.”

Tyler shook his head, still holding Troye’s face in a gentle grip and leaning in to rub their noses together briefly. “Gonna have to try harder than that to get rid of me,” he whispered, his lips twitching into a hesitant smile.

Troye sniffed and lowered his gaze to somewhere in the vicinity of the dip at the bottom of Tyler’s neck, suddenly feeling like the worst person in the world.

Tyler’s expression turned serious again. “Hey,” he whispered, nudging Troye’s face up to look at him again. “You’re everything to me.”

Feeling his chest fill with warmth at the look in Tyler’s eyes, as if he was trying to instill the knowledge of his feelings in the very deepest corners of Troye’s soul, Troye managed a careful smile in response. He knew that Tyler really meant it – how, or why he’d ever doubted that, Troye would probably never know. His heart was starting to feel much lighter than it had just a little while ago, having slowly pieced itself back together over the course of the last few minutes.

He felt his face being tugged forward as Tyler tilted his head just a little, leaning in to give him a soft kiss. Troye sighed into the familiar touch, letting his arms relax around Tyler’s neck. They lingered a bit over it, their lips moving slowly together in a gentle dance to reaffirm that this was exactly where they both wanted to be.

“I’m sorry for not having more faith in you,” Troye whispered as they pulled back, and leaned forward again to rest his forehead against Tyler’s, closing his eyes.

Tyler released a heavy breath. “It’s okay... I suppose you’ll just have to make it up to me in sexual favors…”

When Troye opened his eyes to give him a withering look, it was met by a wink and Tyler’s most disarming smirk. “Don’t look at me like that,” he said and pecked Troye’s pouting bottom lip. “You know you love it.”

Troye scoffed and pushed at Tyler’s shoulders half-heartedly, but stilled when Tyler gave him another, firmer kiss.

“I’ll let you get away with that one,” Troye muttered as they pulled apart, only partly joking, “but only because I still feel bad.”

“No need to; it’s practically forgotten already.” Tyler’s smile had gone from teasing to reassuring, and his hands slipped down Troye’s chest to wrap around his waist instead.

Sniffing gently, Troye gave a sheepish smile in return and was about to tell Tyler how much he loved him for being so unbelievably forgiving, when a whine rose from the vicinity of their feet. Troye looked down past his arms where they were lifted around Tyler’s neck, having almost all but forgotten about the puppy that they were now apparently the proud caretakers of. In his peripheral vision, he saw Tyler follow his gaze.

“You think we can do this?” Tyler asked, sounding a bit uncertain.

Troye felt his smile widen on instinct at the way the puppy tilted her head in interest at the sudden attention she was gaining, one of her floppy ears having gotten stuck where it had flipped back over her head.

“You know, I really think we can,” Troye answered with a calm that took him by surprise after how close he’d come to a nervous breakdown earlier. “See, there’s still this thing I need to talk to you about - it’s the whole reason why I’m home early.”

Tyler looked up at him again. “Which is..?”

Troye drew a deep breath, trying to think of the best way to tell his boyfriend that, despite all the fuzz he’d made, he suddenly wasn’t so opposed to the idea of starting a family after all.

“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking,” he began. “Almost enough to drive me mad, as I’m sure you can tell.” He sniffled again and gave a crooked little smile at the way he’d recently been bawling his eyes out. Tyler smiled softly, though his expression was still one of sympathy over Troye’s earlier anguish. “What I’ve been thinking about is what happened during and after that time at Caspar’s… You know which one I’m talking about.”

At Tyler’s nod, he went on, “While the thought of having kids did scare the living shit out of me, it also forced me to consider it, you know? Sort of like, once it was out there, it just wouldn’t leave me be... And I think I know why that is.”

He paused, feeling a lump form in his throat at the prospect of saying it out loud since he’d figured everything out so recently. It gave him butterflies to think about it in this new perspective, and it probably would for a while – providing that Tyler wanted the same thing.

“And why’s that?” Tyler murmured.

Troye closed his eyes, not managing more than a whisper in return. “I think I might have changed my mind.”

There was a pause before Tyler responded, “Might have?”

Troye could hear the smile in his voice, and opened his eyes, fixing Tyler with a steady gaze.

“No, I have. I’ve changed my mind.”

Tyler’s smile grew along with that same sparkle which Troye had seen in his eyes for the first time that fateful afternoon. He released a breathy laugh while seeing comprehension slowly spread over his features.

“So, what you’re saying is… you want to start a family?” 

Troye nodded. “I mean, yeah, I guess I am saying that.”

“Like, for us to have a child?” Tyler asked, his voice a bit breathless, and Troye repeated his nod. “Together?”

Even though the moment was sort of monumental, and certainly brought a whole new aspect to their relationship, Troye laughed again, letting it carry louder and more carefree this time. His heart felt fit to burst with the sudden onset of elation in the wake of his earlier distress. It was without a doubt the brightest, happiest moment in his life, and to see that happiness reflected in Tyler’s eyes brought fresh tears to his own, this time of the joyous kind.

“Yes, Tilly,” he giggled, leaning in to peck Tyler’s lips in between his words. “Us. A child. Together.”

Tyler’s arms around his waist tightened considerably, and he gave a low, rumbling purr before he captured Troye’s lips in a proper kiss, this one turning out longer and decidedly more heated than Troye had originally expected, who was caught mid-giggle at Tyler’s antics. He flushed as a very persistent tongue found its way in between his lips and proceeded to make him go a bit weak at the knees. How Tyler still managed to do that with such ease after the years of being together, Troye didn’t know.

He didn’t much worry about figuring it out, either, not when it was clearly still working. As Tyler stepped in a little closer, making their bodies align, Troye felt a thrill of excitement travel up his spine along with a warmth that pooled low in his gut, and concluded that it was _definitely_ still working. Stroking his fingers up and into Tyler’s hair, he tilted his head further and moaned into their kiss in response.

“It’s physically impossible for me to love you any more than I do right now, you do understand that, don’t you?” Tyler asked in a husky voice as soon as he pulled back to allow them breath.

“I’m starting to figure that out, yes,” Troye smirked and tilted his hips forward just a smidgeon to let Tyler know that he was indeed able to tell in more ways than one. “And I love you, too – enough to drive me a bit mad, apparently.”

Having begun tracing short, little kisses down Troye’s neck, Tyler slid his hands down to settle over the swell of his ass and murmured into his skin, “How ‘bout we take this somewhere a bit more comfortable, then?”

“Alright,” Troye breathed in response as Tyler found that sensitive patch of skin almost by his shoulder that had always made him melt a bit, and scraped at it with a gentle teasing of teeth. The familiar caresses and the whisper of Tyler’s voice was making him forget all about his earlier fears – just like it should be, and just like he’d known deep down that he would.

They’d just begun moving slowly towards the bedroom when a whimper that didn’t come from either of them made them pause and pull apart to look at each other – Troye with dawning realization and Tyler with an inquisitive expression.

“What about Juniper?” Troye asked with a crease forming between his eyebrows.

“Juniper?” Tyler replied, blinking in muddled confusion.

“Our puppy.”

“You’ve named her already?” Tyler asked before nodding slowly, seeming to consider the name. “Juniper… I like it.”

“Of course, you do; it’s perfect,” Troye sniffed. “So, what about Juniper?”

Tyler’s eyes darted quickly between Troye’s as if he’d find the correct response somewhere in them if he looked hard enough. When he came up empty, however, he hesitated a little before asking, “…What about her?”

Troye rolled his eyes. “Will she be okay on her own while we… you know?” He inclined his head discreetly towards the bedroom, suddenly modest on the off chance that the dog would somehow understand him.

His gaze clearing with understanding, Tyler leaned back in to touch his lips to Troye’s. “I put out bowls with kibble and water in the kitchen earlier, and there’re newspapers in the corners in case she needs to go.”

The puppy, who had lumbered her way closer again, chose that exact moment to start tugging playfully at the leg of Tyler’s jeans with the notoriously razor sharp teeth of young dogs. Tyler winced at one particularly harsh nip and closed his eyes with a sigh.

“But—” Troye tried again, only to be caught off guard when Tyler abruptly turned away from their embrace and grabbed him by the wrist to steer them quickly towards the bedroom. The puppy galloped after them in a merry game of chase. She skidded to a halt, however, when she nearly crashed into the bedroom door as Tyler pulled Troye into the room and closed it behind them.

“Tyler!” Troye gasped, a little shocked at the somewhat heartless gesture, and tried to wiggle his hand loose from Tyler’s grip.

“Do you want her to watch?” Tyler asked with raised eyebrows as he stepped closer again, catching Troye around the waist with his other arm and pulling him close.

Troye pursed his lips and huffed out a breath through his nose. “Well, _no_ , but there’s no need to be mean about it.”

“It’s not mean – she’s a dog, they need boundaries,” Tyler explained in a voice tinted with calm patience and tried to steal a kiss from Troye’s lips. When Troye evaded it petulantly by looking off to the side, however, Tyler shook his head.

“Please, don’t let this be a foreboding of how things are gonna be when we have a child to raise…” he sighed.

The mention of their future as parents had Troye instantly relaxing again in Tyler’s arms, and he turned his head to look at him. Tyler’s soft smile returned at the signs of cooperation, and he placed a light peck at the corner of Troye’s mouth.

“She’ll be fine,” he whispered, and that was it as far as talking was concerned for some time, since their next kiss lead to eager fingers tugging at shirt buttons and t-shirt hems and pulling off glasses, which eventually lead to them tumbling onto the bed in a heap of tangled limps and hot, searching hands.

Kneeling between Troye’s pant clad legs, Tyler slowly spread his white shirt apart at the opened front, leaning forward to kiss and lick his way down Troye’s chest while his hands slid down to grip him at the waist. Troye arched up towards his mouth, his breath already shallow as his fingers carded through Tyler’s hair.

“So, this was what you’ve been doing all along?” he breathed, tilting his head back into the pillow he was resting on and closing his eyes as Tyler latched on to one of his sensitive nipples. “Finding us a dog?”

“Mm-hm,” Tyler nodded carefully as to not lose contact with the hardened flesh he was suckling on. When Troye whimpered at the stimulation, Tyler finally released his nipple with a wet pop. “I had it all planned out too.” He flicked at the dark flesh with the very tip of his tongue just the once before moving on to the other to lavish it with the same attention as its twin.

“O-oh?” Troye stuttered breathlessly and squirmed a little. The strong hands holding his middle kept him from moving too much, though.

“Yeah…” Tyler breathed around the nipple in his mouth, worrying at it with his teeth briefly and giving it a soothing kiss when Troye gasped. “I was gonna clean up a bit and set up the puppy’s – _Juniper’s_ – bed.”

His warm breath washed over Troye’s flushed skin, and he began moving upwards again with a line of kisses, coming to rest on his elbows as he went. Troye sighed as Tyler settled his frame on top of him, his hips falling into the space between his open legs and his kisses trailing slowly across Troye’s jawline. It didn’t matter that they were still covered from the waist down; it still felt amazing to have Tyler cover him with his solid weight. It was warm and comforting and safe and _home_ , and Troye slipped his hands around Tyler’s back to hold his shoulders.

 

“And later,” Tyler continued in a whisper against Troye’s temple, “I was gonna cook us a nice, homemade meal, followed by that chocolate cake you like so much.”

Tyler’s hands had begun wandering slowly south, and were now dipping into the waist of Troye’s nicely pressed pants. One of his palms slid lower to cup Troye through the soft fabric just as Troye drew a breath, turning it into a sharp inhalation.

“We can still do that…” Troye’s voice came out a bit strained since it was rather difficult to speak while someone was massaging your erection with excruciatingly slow, circling movements. His socked toes curled into the bedding at the teasing touch and he tightened his bent legs on each side of Tyler’s hips at the delicious ache that was starting to build deep in his groin.

Tyler chuckled teasingly as he kissed the shell of Troye’s ear. “And then I was going to make love to you…”

His hips began rolling slowly, moving gently in a motion much like lapping waves on a shore. It made his palm press even tighter against Troye, whose breath hitched while his fingers flexed in their grip on Tyler’s upper back. He moaned when he felt Tyler’s other hand slide underneath his pants to hold a bare buttock in a firm grip before letting the one at his front slip back to do the same.

“… Slow,” Tyler’s lips plucked at Troye’s earlobe, his voice a mere rumble, “… and _deep_.”

He punctuated the last word with a hard press of his hips, holding in place for a moment as if to really make his words sink in. Troye gasped and lifted his hips into the sweltering heat of the contact, barely able to move at all under Tyler’s unrelenting pressure but still making a valiant effort.

“I guess the cake can wait,” he choked on a strangled breath.

Lifting his head, Tyler whispered, “Thought so,” above Troye’s gasping mouth before sealing their open lips together in a kiss that immediately deepened and turned just this side of rough.

Troye hummed into the kiss, his fingertips falling into the little dip in Tyler’s spine, his palms resting on the slopes of his strong shoulder blades that were ever moving with the undulation of their bodies. They held each other close throughout the kiss, and Tyler only let his hands slip around towards Troye’s zipper when the pressure of their lips relented a bit.

Breathing in huffs through his nose, Tyler kept his exploration of Troye’s mouth going all while easing his hips back far enough to start opening Troye’s pants with quick hands. Somewhere in the haze of his lust addled mind, Troye realized that Tyler was wearing entirely too much clothing as well.

When Tyler broke their kiss and sat back to remove Troye’s pants and underwear in one go, pulling his socks off on the way, Troye quickly leaned up on one elbow and reached for the front of Tyler’s tented jeans. He began working on the closings with a shaky hand, biting his lip as the well-worn button hole let the metal through easily, while fighting to get the zipper to cooperate. Tyler chucked Troye’s clothes somewhere off to the side of the bed and turned back to focus on him just as he gave a little whine of annoyance at the stubborn rudeness of Tyler’s jeans.

Covering Troye’s hand with his, Tyler snickered at his urgency, and Troye lifted his eyes to scowl at him with a look that said, You do it then, before settling back on his elbows to watch. 

Tyler’s smile fell slowly and his jaw went a bit lax as he worked his jeans open, the constraints of the rough fabric finally easing back and letting his erection settle more comfortably against his body, lifted as it were to strain against his lower stomach. The tip peaked out over the top of his boxers, flushed a rosy red with the blood that surged through it. Moisture had already gathered at the slit, a single tiny drop forming as proof of his level of excitement.

Troye followed every movement, his eyes riveted to the little show playing out just in front of him where Tyler was resting on his knees between his now naked legs. Tyler was still as attractive as he’d been when they first met, and if he’d become a bit softer around the edges with the comfort of a steady relationship, he was only made all the more irresistible because of it. At least that was Troye’s firm belief, and apparently his own body agreed, since he wasn’t even aware of his little whimper of need until Tyler tsked and dipped his thumbs into the elastic of his underwear, teasingly running them back and forth under the edge a few times.

“Impatient, are we?”

Troye’s eyes snapped up to Tyler’s face, his eyes narrowing at the smug grin on his lips, but quickly schooled his features since he didn’t want Tyler to think he had the upper hand. This little seduction game was one they played every once in a while, trying to up each other in terms of daring suggestions until one of them snapped. There wasn’t a particular price for whoever won, other than a proverbial mark on the scoreboard and something to use as a teasing weapon whenever the need for one arose in verbal sparring matches.

Tilting his chin down just a smidgeon, Troye fixed Tyler with an intense gaze through his eyelashes. Still leaning on his elbows, he lifted one of his legs to run the inside of his calf up Tyler’s side, the movement making his knee bend closer to his body to offer a tantalizing glimpse of places that had been hidden from view until then, further back between his legs.

“I’m just waiting for you to make good on your word,” he drawled. He let his gaze flicker down Tyler’s body in a way that he knew made his eyelashes flutter coquettishly – something Tyler, in a weak moment, had told him made his blood boil. “See how deep you meant…”

He lifted his eyes back up to Tyler’s and watched as his jaw clenched, his eyes darkening with lust and determination. A moment later, Tyler roughly shoved his jeans and boxers off his hips, hurrying his way out of them in rushed movements. His eyes never left Troye’s, who bit his lip on a triumphant smile, waiting for Tyler to finish undressing.

In a flurry of movement, Tyler finally flung his clothes off the bed. “How ‘bout I show you, huh?” 

Leaning forward on one hand, he held himself aloft over Troye’s body while reaching for the nightstand, his face mere inches from Troye’s.

“About time...” Troye sighed, leaning up further to catch Tyler’s lips in a teasing kiss tinted with need, a need he felt as a simmering heat in his very core.

The kiss deepened, and he felt Tyler rummage in the space between their bodies, scooting his knees forward in order to keep his balance while working through the preparations. Troye heard the familiar click of a bottle cap and worried carefully at Tyler’s bottom lip with light yet persistent nibbles to hurry things along.

Tyler groaned into the kiss, and Troye let out a soft grunt when an assertive arm nudged one of his bent legs further aside and he felt slick fingertips find his entrance with confident accuracy. Balancing on one elbow, he lifted his other hand to grip the back of Tyler’s neck, his firm grasp showing both his approval as Tyler sank two fingers inside him at once, and to somehow make sure he didn’t break the perfect suspension of the moment, where Troye felt as though his body was a bow string; drawn taut and trembling with unreleased tension.

As Tyler started working his fingers in a slow rhythm, the strain on Troye’s arm soon became too much to keep him lifted any longer. With a sigh, he let himself fall back against the pillows once more, pulling Tyler with him. Tyler’s neck stretched to keep them locked at the lips, Troye’s hand at the base of his skull holding him in place and the other coming up to wrap around his shoulders.

Troye made soft noises as Tyler continued to stretch him carefully, sometimes teasing a third fingertip around the sensitive rim, and other times pulling his fingers out to only return with just the one. The unpredictability kept Troye on edge, and he whined in protest when Tyler teased just the very tip of his finger inside, only to groan long and deep when, next thing he knew, he quickly sank the finger inside to rub against his prostate.

It was enough to drive Troye just this side of crazy, and he ripped his mouth away from Tyler’s to pant against them.

“Stop teasing me, already, you prick.”

His words and the tone in which he bit them out would have sounded harsh to anyone else, but they both knew that Troye didn’t really mean it more than to tell Tyler that he’d had enough of his games. It was a regular occurrence when things got to this stage, which by all means was far from every time they had sex, but often enough to make Tyler chuckle at the heat behind Troye’s demand.

“But I like watching you like this. So hot and ready for it…” Tyler whispered, licking along Troye’s lax bottom lip, which had fallen open to allow his gasping breath. “So needy on my fingers.”

Troye clenched his eyes shut when Tyler bent said digits to press hard against his sweet spot, making him mewl and move down more or less instinctively on Tyler’s hand, feeling droplets of sweat begin to pearl around the edges of his temples.

“I should have gone with the cake…” he choked out, making as if he was thinking out loud, hoping it would provoke a response. Any sort of reaction would be fine at that point, just as long as Tyler did something.

“You keep talking, petal,” Tyler warned with a smirk. “I can do this _all night_.” He drew out the last two words and emphasized them by slowing the pace of his fingers, making every little movement become tangible as they pushed and pulled on the flesh at the very edge of Troye’s slicked opening. “You know I can…”

“Tyler- _ahh_!” Troye tried to make his name sound like a threat, but the way it trailed off into a moan when Tyler pressed against his prostate once more sort of made it lose some of the intended heat.

Tyler’s back was covered in a thin sheen of perspiration, probably from holding himself back for so long, and Troye tightened his fingers into claws on the damp skin. He really _had_ had enough; the past few months had been hell. He’d waited too long for the relief of knowing that he would be staying securely wrapped in Tyler’s arms for the foreseeable future. 

Abandoning their teasing, he opened his eyes to convey all his need in one look, hoping that Tyler would heed his call.

“ _Please_. I need you, baby.”

Some of the smugness started to melt away from Tyler’s features, and he hesitated in his movements as his eyes searched Troye’s face, somehow seeming to sense his urgency. He began to pull his hand back carefully, making Troye whimper and arch his back slightly. Despite the way his eyelids fluttered at the stimulation, Troye quickly regained eye-contact once Tyler’s fingers left his body.

While Tyler was reaching for the bottle he’d left somewhere on the bed, Troye continued breathily, “I need you so bad. You’ve had no way of knowing, and I’m so sorry for doubting you – for doubting us – but just an hour ago I had almost convinced myself that you were...” He couldn’t finish, choking on his words as he felt his emotions rise once more in his chest. “Tyler, I was so scared of losing you, just… _please_.”

“Shh, it’s okay,” Tyler whispered as he leaned in to place gentle little kisses on Troye’s lips. “I’m right here.”

He finished preparing quickly and settled forward on his elbows above Troye, letting his hips once more fall into place between open thighs. Troye lifted his legs to wrap them around Tyler’s waist, lifting his lower body slightly off the bed to show his eagerness. Tyler inched his hips back just a little, and Troye whined in protest as he tightened his grip on Tyler’s shoulders.

Yet Tyler still held back, staring down at Troye for long moments. Troye met his gaze, trying to calm his breathing while he waited. Lifting his hand to brush it lightly over Troye’s cheek, Tyler’s eyes studied his features, his expression settling into one of calm serenity, steady even in the storm that was their arousal.

“I can’t believe how lucky I am to have you in my life.” His gaze was clear and bright, and despite the intimate embrace and their long time together, Troye still managed to blush. “I struggle to imagine a situation where you could make me any happier.”

Tyler’s eyes softened around the edges into a smile that was light and love and hope, and Troye could practically feel his heart grow to make more room for it all. “But I’m sure that it won’t be a problem the day I get to see you hold our child for the first time.”

Troye gasped, his whole body suddenly going hypersensitive to every touch and feeling, leaving him light-headed with a sensation close to vertigo. He tried to think of a reply, his lips trembling in time with his rapidly beating heart.

“Tyler…” was all he managed to whisper.

“How about it, gorgeous?” Tyler’s smile widened in that special way that made his eyes sparkle, and he leaned down to kiss Troye with barely a brush of lips. “Do you wanna make a baby with me?”

All breath was suddenly knocked from Troye’s lungs and with a whimper, he lifted his head to catch Tyler’s lips, repeatedly whispering, “Yes, yes, yes,” against them in between a rapid succession of kisses, trying to somehow convey his desperate agreement.

Tilting his head to deepen their kiss, Tyler reached down between them to settle himself into place against Troye’s slicked skin and didn’t wait a moment longer before starting to slowly push forward. Troye breathed in sharply through his nose at having Tyler fill him steadily, the unrelenting pressure already making what remained of the last couple of months’ anxiety vanish on a wave of lust.

Moaning into Tyler’s mouth, Troye angled his lower body up to meet Tyler’s as he sank all the way inside, their skin meeting flush when he couldn’t go any further. Tyler pressed firm against him, staying in place for a moment or two to give Troye time to get used to his presence once more.

Troye held him tightly as they waited for his body to adjust. He made soft noises when his muscles pulsed gently around Tyler, as if reconciling with the invasion of his most intimate of places. Troye would never tire of this, not when it still felt so good that it made the soles of his feet tingle.

Tyler seemed to share the sentiment; when he started to gently back away, he gave a long, low moan that seemed to ripple from his chest to Troye’s from where they where pressed together. Pausing after only a moment, Tyler moved forward to settle back inside and started withdrawing almost immediately after. Keeping the motion going, he soon built a steady rhythm of slow rolls of his hips, never moving further back than a few inches before sinking in again.

Huffing against Tyler’s lips, Troye gave them one last press of his own before he let his head fall back against the pillow. While his body became awash with pleasure at Tyler inherent ability to make it respond to his effort without fail, Troye’s head swam with the emotions that were produced as a result. He knew that he was safe in Tyler’s arms – safe to lean back and enjoy every flare of pleasure that was wrung from his body like music from a fine-tuned instrument.

His hands wandered appreciatively over Tyler’s shoulders, feeling his muscles ripple under his perspiring skin. Grunting at a sudden, harder thrust, he slipped the fingers of one hand up into the slightly damp hair at the nape of Tyler’s neck when he let his head fall forward to rest next to Troye’s, face turned slightly towards him.

Warm breath rushed over the damp skin at his collarbone in steady waves, the pace and ferocity of every gust giving clues to the level of Tyler’s excitement. The longer exhalations said that Troye’s fingers rubbing his scalp felt particularly wonderful, the small hitches told him that Tyler liked it very much when Troye tightened a little around him, and the shorter huffs which accompanied thrusts that ended up a bit harder than the others were in clear response to the blunt nails that Troye dragged over the edge of one jutting shoulder blade.

Working their way towards completion, they resonated with each other, completely in tune in every way. It was a result of countless moments spent together like this, as well as that very same sense of security in each other that Troye was steadily reminded of each passing second; one which he’d foolishly doubted but knew he would be careful to question again.

Tyler leaned a bit to the side to rest most of his weight on one arm, letting his free hand roam Troye’s skin. His palm skimmed over Troye’s side down to his waist, where his thumb dipped inward to rub gently at his stomach, likely feeling his muscles flex underneath heated flesh, tightening to lift into every one of Tyler’s thrusts.

His movements were growing quicker and less refined, losing a bit of the control that kept his hips from driving forward just that much harder. Troye moaned at the change in pace, the harsher edge to Tyler’s thrusts making his pleasure rise from a murmur to a hum, reverberating throughout his body with every time Tyler’s considerable length filled him again.

With the way that Troye’s legs and arms tightened around him, it would be impossible for Tyler to miss the increasing tension in Troye’s body. His lips found Troye’s skin and latched on to a tendon in his neck while his hand continued to wander lower, curving around Troye’s hipbone and tightening its hold there while his thrusts became even harder. Troye whimpered underneath him, the dual stimulation making all too familiar pressure build deep in his groin, his body responding to Tyler’s without fail.

The hand on his hip trailed in towards his centre, this time turning to brush soft knuckles over the sensitive skin on his lower stomach, making goosebumps rise under the touch. Troye gasped when Tyler’s fingers finally closed around his aching length, the thrill of pleasure that shot through his body making him leap closer to that ever looming edge in the distance. He felt moisture pool on his stomach as a result of the way Tyler’s erection brushed against his prostate on every other reentry, making his own length weep, quite helpless to stop the reaction.

Tyler moaned against his neck, sweeping his thumb up to spread some of the wetness around the soft skin of the tip. Troye’s fingers tightened on his skin once more, letting out a harsh breath when Tyler slowly started stroking him in time with his thrusts.

He gasped softly and tilted his head back in response, unintentionally baring his throat to further exploration. Tyler seized the opportunity and licked a broad swipe across Troye’s throat before leaning up to trail his lips down his jaw.

“That’s it, baby,” Tyler whispered in between panting breaths, straining to reach his lips to give them lingering kisses. “Come on… Almost there.”

Troye whimpered brokenly into Tyler’s kisses. Tyler knew his body so well, and having his deep voice gently coax him towards climax would always be one of his absolute weaknesses, the other two being the complete focus Tyler had on him during these moments and the persistence in which he would push him closer and closer to his orgasm. It never failed to reduce him to a pile of shaking pleasure. Even now, with Tyler’s thrusts growing ever faster and his hand moving in fast strokes over his erection, Troye was being propelled towards his peak in a rush of overwhelming stimulation, Tyler seeming to all but forget about anything else than seeing him through to his finish.

Nearing the point of no return, sounds and sensations all became a distant buzz while Troye squeezed his eyes shut against the mounting tension in his body, choking on desperate moans against Tyler’s lips. Everything tightened into a pinpoint, the aching fire flaring deep in his belly leaving him trembling as time suddenly stopped. It left him teetering on the brink for just one beat of his heart before it finally released, throwing him head first into the blinding light of climax.

Moaning almost continuously while he rode on waves of boiling pleasure, Troye’s hands and legs were vices on Tyler’s back. His muscles clamped down around Tyler’s erection, and he could feel him come deep within his body. Throaty groans responded to his own noises of approval, one with every stripe that pulsed from his length to paint their sweaty skin with his release, echoing into a series of corresponding clenches of his entrance.

Troye’s breath was rapid and shallow, hitching slightly when lingering shudders wracked his frame, and he was still shaking in the aftermath of his orgasm long minutes after it had ebbed away. Tyler’s breath matched his, panting harshly into the side of his neck where he rested, staying inside of him as he softened slowly.

“Still think the cake would have beaten that?” Tyler murmured in between breaths, lifting his head to smile lazily down at Troye, who opened his eyes just a little to squint back at him.

“Chocolate, was it?” he panted, his breathing slowing in time with his heart, steadily calming its rhythm inside his chest.

Tyler chuckled breathily and leaned down to nip at Troye’s bottom lip. “Give me a few minutes and I’ll get you for that cheek, babe.”

“‘A few minutes’? Maybe you should just save up on your energy for when we have little ones to chase after, babe?” Troye mocked teasingly, loving these back-and-forth’s and that he could rile Tyler up so easily. A smirk began to spread on his lips before he gasped and felt his eyes widen when Tyler caught his wrists, twisting them up to hold them down against the pillows above his head.

“Are you calling me old?” Tyler’s voice was deep and his eyes flashed with dark promise, and he lifted up to put some of his weight on Troye’s wrists, pinning them in place. Despite what he’d claimed mere seconds before, his length stirred in interest where it was still half-buried inside Troye.

Troye purred appreciatively at the sensation, wiggling slightly on the hardening flesh. “Wouldn’t dream of it,” he whispered while his eyelids grew heavy, leaving him to stare at Tyler from under his eyelashes.

“Good answer,” Tyler breathed against his lips, closing the distance on a kiss while his hips slowly rolled forward. He closed his eyes at the same time, seeming to get slowly carried away on gently lapping waves of returning arousal.

After a few moments of watching him, Troye closed his eyes too and responded to the lazy kiss with deep swipes of his tongue against Tyler’s, moaning at the stretch of being filled again.

As Tyler began moving inside him with gentle thrusts, easing them back into the heat of heady pleasure, Troye pecked at his lips and whispered against them, “You know I love you, Tilly.”

“I do,” Tyler whispered back, his breathing stilted and his hands easing from around Troye’s wrists to curl around his back instead. “Just like I love you, gorgeous.”

And with a certainty that he had missed for long months, Troye knew it too.

-x-

14 months later

Troye sighed contentedly. He was lounging on his back in the shade of a large alder tree with Tyler’s black college jacket bundled up under his head. He had lifted questioning eyebrows when Tyler grabbed it from the hook before they’d left that morning, wondering why his boyfriend found it necessary to bring a jacket when it was already turning out to be a pleasantly warm day. Tyler’s immediate response had been a peck to Troye’s cheek and a smiling comment about how he wouldn’t be able to help Troye when he’d inevitably complain about being cold if he didn’t bring one (which wasn’t something Troye did nearly as often as Tyler tried to make it seem). As it were, it now served excellently as a makeshift pillow.

Every now and then, a soft paw would kick his lower leg; Juniper was sleeping heavily, probably dreaming of running across vast meadows and swimming in cool, never ending seas. Tyler was on his stomach beside him, looking absolutely adorable at the moment, with his glasses askew and snoring lightly as he rested atop his folded forearms. Troye couldn’t help but smile at the picture he made as he turned to peek at him through sleep heavy eyes.

Sighing again, Troye relished in the soft whisper of a gentle breeze moving through the leaves high above him. The day had been perfect in every way – from the picnic of cheese and whine that was settling nicely in his stomach, to the thought of what Tyler might have planned for later. It was Troye’s 25th birthday after all, and he was pretty sure Tyler had reserved a table at a fancy restaurant or similar, since Caspar had inconspicuously offered to watch Juniper that evening “in case they stayed out late.”

A good portion of Troye’s 24th had been spent meandering about shops brandishing some big designer names, with Tyler telling him to pick out anything he wanted, no matter the price, and Troye discreetly trying to avoid looking at anything at all while thinking about what they could buy in preparation for a family with the money his boyfriend was spending on him right then. In the end, Tyler had gone from gently encouraging to practically shoving a tasteful gold bracelet at him with a frustrated huff, muttering something about how “some people were unable to accept a goddamn gift for what it was.” Realizing he’d only managed to hurt Tyler’s feelings by dawdling, Troye had smiled carefully and asked for help to close the clasp on the bracelet as they left the store. When Tyler had grunted and stepped closer to fiddle with the closing, Troye had teasingly called Tyler his “very own sugar daddy” before leaning forward to thank him with a lingering kiss. The rest of the day had gone decidedly better after that, not to mention that night.

Suddenly, the shrill melody of a phone ringing cut through the quiet of the early afternoon, interrupting Troye’s focus on Tyler’s relaxed features. His contented smile dropped in annoyance when Tyler’s eyes squinted open while he lifted his head slightly.

“Wha-?” Tyler croaked, his hair mussed on one side and a small glint of spittle on one side of his lips from the way his head had been turned. His eyes searched his surroundings confusedly for the first few moments before he finally focused on Troye. 

“Your phone, Mr. Dribbles.” Troye reached out to wipe his thumb at the corner of Tyler’s mouth, his tone patient.

“Was I snoring?” Tyler asked, his voice thick and raspy with sleep. He reached up to wipe his mouth with the back of his hand, knocking Troye’s out of the way in the process.

Troye let his arm flop down to the blanket in the space between them, giving Tyler an indulgent smile. “Only a little,” he answered in a murmur, watching as Tyler stopped listening and focused solely on finding his phone, digging around his jean pockets quickly with fumbling movements while straightening his glasses.

When Tyler finally located his phone and lifted it to his ear, Troye closed his eyes and turned his head to face the blue sky once more, only half listening to Tyler’s conversation. The call was probably something uninteresting to do with work anyway, with the expansions to Tyler’s bar going on and everything. Legal never hesitated to call on a weekend, probably not expecting people to have lives since _they_ didn’t.

That’s why the breathless quality of Tyler’s voice startled him after the initial greeting, when a shocked, “ _What_?” came in response to whatever the person on the other end had said.

Troye whipped his head around to see Tyler rise up on his knees while he stared wide-eyed but unfocused out into nothing, listening silently to the caller on the other end. At his feet, Juniper gave a long, whining yawn as she sat up to look at them curiously, roused from her sleep by the commotion. Troye’s pulse sped up.

“What’s going on?” he demanded as he sat up quickly, his heart suddenly in his throat. It fell on deaf ears, however, since Tyler’s focus was elsewhere.

“What, like _right now_?!” Tyler continued, the words coming out a bit strangled.  
“ _Tyler_ ,” Troye practically growled as his fingers curled into the blanket at his sides. He had no patience for being ignored when Tyler was scaring him like this.

Tyler’s eyes flickered around slightly before he seemed to suddenly remember Troye’s presence and settled his wide eyes on him while he said, “We’re on our way,” and ended the short call.

“What is it?” Troye croaked around the lump in his throat. His body went cold as his thoughts inevitably leapt to a red-headed young woman that they’d both gotten to know very well over the past year, and who was carrying a very precious cargo at the moment.

Tyler blinked slowly and sat stock still. After long seconds, he whispered, “It-it’s happening.”

Troye almost whimpered with impatience. “Tyler, I don’t—” 

“It’s Amy. She’s in labor.”

For a fraction of a second, Troye stopped breathing. Tyler’s words were almost too large to comprehend, yet brought a swooping joy to his stomach.

It might seem like a rushed decision to others, but after the Big Scare of one year ago, they’d started the process of family-making just that following week. It wasn’t that they were afraid of what would happen to them and their relationship if they didn’t go through with it; it was just that they couldn’t stop thinking about it once the idea had set root.

They’d looked at different types of adoption and even considered asking a few of the lesbian couples they knew if any of them had given this family thing some thought lately. But after weighing all their options, they’d settled on the one that felt most natural to them and would mean that their child was as close to theirs, and theirs alone, as it could be – surrogacy. Then, when they’d had a chance to meet Amy, a mother of three and their potential surrogate, for the first time, there’d been no remaining doubt that this was the woman who’d help them bring a child into the world. Despite her relatively young age (she was just one year older than Tyler), she had this maternal confidence about her, a security in her role as a role model and as a mother. When thinking back, it seemed almost like she’d done little more than smile warmly at them and it had been settled.

“But…” Troye whispered, his voice failing him while his heart stuttered and quickly regained momentum again. “It’s too soon!”

Tyler laughed abruptly, an eruption of sound followed by an exultant smile that bloomed wide across his face. “A week early is okay, Troye, or weren’t you listening during all those prenatal visits?”

“Nine days!” Troye pointed out with slight panic growing in his chest.

“Troye, I swear – the baby will be perfectly healthy.”

Tyler’s steady hand on his arm made Troye regain some of his equilibrium, anchoring him to the ground. Troye consciously tried to steady his breathing as if he was the one currently about to give birth.

The time had come, at last; after months of waiting, worrying, babysitting every chance they got, and reading every book on parenting that there was to find, it was finally their turn – their turn to fall in love all over again, but this time with a tiny, brand new person. Despite their nervousness and all the worries that came with the added responsibility of a baby, this moment couldn’t have come soon enough.

“ _Our_ baby,” he corrected shakily when he could finally speak again, not having looked away from Tyler’s sparkling blue eyes while he gathered his wits.

Tyler’s smile softened. “Our baby.”

It took a few moments for the magnitude of it all to sink in before they quickly gathered their things and, leaving Juniper with Caspar on the way, rushed off to the hospital to witness the birth of their child.

-x-

Closing the door carefully behind him, Troye paused in the shadowed hallway. He staved his breath, straining to try to hear if any noise was coming from inside the apartment. When no sound had reached him after long seconds of waiting, he relaxed once more and silently began slipping out of his shoes and jacket in measured movements.

It wasn’t that late, really, with the arrival of dusk making the light from outside only just begin to grow a bit dimmer. Troye had stayed behind at work to get a few more hours in before tax season, arguing that it was better to get the work done now and enjoy a longer weekend by taking a Friday off when it was over. Tyler was mostly home anyway, running his business on advisory basis only for a few months, so it wouldn’t really make any difference if Troye ran a little late during the course of a week or so.

His body was starting to feel the strain of the extra work load, though, and he rubbed at his tired eyes while stepping over the threshold to the living room, trying to get rid of the dryness that usually set in when he’d been inside the office air conditioning all day.

And there he stopped, almost swaying on his feet as he blinked at the scene before him, his stomach swooping so strongly that he nearly lost his balance.

Leaning back into the corner of their L-shaped couch, Tyler was fast asleep in front of the muted TV with his head tilted sideways at what looked to be an uncomfortable angle. Even though that was cute in a way, it wasn’t what made Troye pause, because lying on Tyler’s chest, sleeping just as soundly as her father, was Daisy – their two month old daughter. Tyler’s hand kept her in place by holding her under her little nappied bum and her head was turned sideways on his shoulder, looking as content to be snuggled in with her dad as a pillow as anyone in her position would.

Juniper, who was curled up on the couch beside them, lifted her head and perked her ears at him when Troye sighed at the image they made, his heart swelling to almost painful proportions inside his chest. And if he was being completely honest, that wasn’t the only part of his body that did.

It wasn’t that Daisy or Tyler weren’t so cute where they lay snuggling that Troye could start squealing like a schoolgirl, and he would never admit it out loud, but seeing Tyler being all domestic and responsible for their child did things to his libido. He’d never been an overtly sexual person (other than perhaps since he’d started seeing Tyler) – at least not the kind that went out of his way to get some, which was why he felt a tiny bit strange for reacting the way he did now. The frequency in which he pretty much jumped Tyler’s bones simply as a result of witnessing him being an all-around amazing father to their girl was immeasurable at this point.

Not that he could be blamed, really, going by how downright _hot_ Tyler looked holding a tiny little infant while bottle-feeding her, his capable arms wrapped so gently around her fragile body and his focus so completely set on making sure she was always cared for in the best way possible. Troye practically salivated when that happened. It really wasn’t fair – Troye never stood any chance.

The now familiar tingle of excitement settling low in his stomach let Troye know that this early evening would be no different from those other times. The sight of Tyler having fallen asleep with Daisy in his arms was actually the biggest challenge to Troye restraints that he’d faced yet, and before he knew it, his feet were moving silently across the carpet, side-stepping a tail-wagging Juniper as she jumped off the couch to meet him halfway. Standing next to where Tyler was sitting, he then leaned over and, as carefully as he could, extracted Daisy from her father’s arms.

‘ _Thanks for saving the spot, young lady, but I’ll take it from here_ ,’ Troye thought with a small smile while making sure she didn’t wake up as he lifted her.

On the couch beneath them, Tyler’s breathing quickened and he made a short sort of grunting noise as he stirred, his slumber disturbed immediately at the shift of weight and warmth on his chest. Troye knew the feeling well – one became hyperaware as soon as there was a child involved that needed to be kept safe. Even when you weren’t conscious, you were somehow always alert and ready for possible dangers. It was something they hadn’t known would happen until they had a baby to care for.

Tyler squinted up at Troye when he stood back up, folding a still sleeping Daisy into his own chest and kissing the wispy, dark curls on the top of her head.

“Hey, babe,” Tyler mumbled groggily, his lips barely opening to let the words through as he stretched lazily. “You home now?”

“Yeah, I just got back,” Troye whispered and stroked a hand through Tyler’s thick hair, making it stick up in tousles as Tyler sank back against the cushions again, clearly struggling to keep his eyes open. Troye’s cheeks flushed, simultaneously in reaction to how delectably mussed Tyler was and in slight mortification at the way his blood stirred and ran a little hotter for the very same reason.

“Wh’ time s’it?” Tyler’s words were jumbled as he reached up to rub at his eyes with the heels of his hands, his glasses already lying folded up beside him next to an empty bottle of formula.

“Barely eight,” Troye answered just as Tyler’s breathing began to even out once more when he let his hands drop back drown into his lap heavily. Troye pursed his lips in slight annoyance. “Don’t fall asleep again, I’ll be right back. I’m just gonna go put Daisy to bed.” A short hum was all the reply he got as he reached for the remote to switch off the TV before turning to move quickly towards the nursery.

They’d converted the home office once Amy’s pregnancy had entered the third trimester, having waited until then to be a bit more certain that they could start making changes to their home without jinxing it somehow. The redecoration had resulted in a room that was mostly made up of sturdy, tasteful wooden furniture and accentuated by the soft pastels typically associated with babies. The walls were lined with a set of drawers for Daisy’s clothes, a toy chest full of plushies, and a beautiful crib with a mobile made up of tiny felt dinosaurs that Korey had given them. There was even a miniature table and chairs in one of the corners, ready for plenty a tea party to be had when Daisy got older.

Troye did a quick check of the state of Daisy’s nappy before deeming it safe to put her in the crib without a change. He kissed her forehead and turned the winder on the mobile to start the gentle tinkling of a familiar lullaby. Brushing the backs of his fingers over Daisy’s cheek, he whisperingly wished her a good night’s sleep before leaving.

As he walked out of the nursery again, leaving a small gap in the door to be able to hear if Daisy woke up at any point, he looked over at the sofa to check on Tyler, who’d snuggled further into the cushions, looking more than ready to continue his nice, long nap. Troye narrowed his eyes at the sight and crossed the short distance between the nursery and their bedroom.

Once he reemerged from there a few short minutes later, the loose tails of his shirt hung loose around his bare lower body. He held a plastic bottle in one hand and was in the process of unbuttoning his shirt with the other. Fully focused on Tyler’s sleeping form, he walked across to the room with determined strides while his buttons fell open one by one. They rarely got a chance to be spontaneous these days, and sex mostly had to be quick and efficient to avoid untimely interruptions from a certain someone, so Troye wasn’t about to let a good opportunity (or erection) go to waste. His fingers practically itched to get his hands on the man currently snoring lightly just a few feet away.

When he reached the couch once more, his shirt was entirely unbuttoned and he let it hang loosely from his shoulders while his hooded gaze rested on Tyler. God, if anyone had remarked on how it was only yesterday morning that Tyler had taken some of the edge off with a blowjob before Troye got up for work, he wouldn’t have believed them. It might as well have been three months ago with how quickly his body responded to seeing his boyfriend being all paternal and caring.

And maybe it seemed like Troye was being all (perverse) business and no appreciation for the sweeter moments, but really, that was fine by him. As long as they were engaged in lewd activity within the next few minutes, he didn’t really care about appearances. They were in private, anyway, and he doubted that Tyler would mind his forwardness much, even if the next part of Troye’s plan did kind of require the involved parties to be awake.

Clicking the cap of the bottle open, Troye poured some of the slick liquid into his left hand and reached back to prepare himself, dipping careful fingertips just inside, but not enough to stretch. He didn’t go further than that, though, knowing that tonight was one of those nights when he’d rather have Tyler’s length stretch him as it went, deliciously unyielding and making Troye feel absolutely wicked as he was driven to accept it deep within him.

Pouring another dollop of lubricant into his hand, Troye closed the bottle and let it drop to the carpeted floor with a thud. His breathing was becoming shallow, and even though he had taken little more than half a minute to prepare since he emerged from the bedroom again, and he wasn’t trying to keep particularly quiet, Tyler was still sleeping.

He wouldn’t be for much longer, Troye smirked to himself.

Stepped forward to lift his leg over Tyler’s outstretched ones, planting his knee beside Tyler’s hip and settling back against his thighs in one fluid motion. Just as Tyler drew a deep breath and lifted his head in reaction, Troye reached for the strings in his sweatpants with his clean hand and tugged the knot open. He caught and held Tyler’s eyes as they fixed on him, looking a bit hazy from sleep even in his surprise.

“Wha–?” was all Tyler had time to croak before Troye’s smirk turned into a devilish grin. He leaned forward to capture Tyler’s mouth in a deep, demanding kiss. Tyler grunted at the assault to his lips, but responded immediately, almost as if by instinct rather than any real conscious decision. His breath huffed out through his nose when Troye reached inside his sweats to wrap long, slicked fingers around his length and gave it one slow, continuous stroke. True to form, Tyler was hard in three seconds flat.

Troye made a soft noise in response, giving teasing little licks at Tyler’s tongue while backing away gradually with his own, tempting Tyler to follow his retreat. Interpreting the request without fail, Tyler quickly reached up to hold Troye’s jaw with both hands and angled his head a bit further to the side while sitting up, taking control of the kiss.

“Don’t move,” Troye mumbled into their kiss, afraid that Tyler was about to make them switch positions.

“I wasn’t planning to…” Tyler murmured back, recapturing Troye’s lips in another kiss. Troye’s hand moving steadily on his arousal soon made his breathing shorten into panting, though, and he leaned back to catch his breath. His hooded eyes trailed down Troye’s chest and further, taking in his naked body with a lift to one of the corners of his mouth. “Not that I don’t appreciate the proceedings, but to what do I owe the pleasure?”

Troye shrugged as casually as he could. His hand was still moving in steady strokes while Tyler mouthed across his cheek to nibble on his earlobe. “No reason, really.”

Tyler hummed in response and moved down to lick lavishly across the sensitive skin just underneath Troye’s ear before giving it long, sucking kisses. His hands stroked down the long slopes of Troye’s back, where his shirt still framed his body in loose wisps of fabric. Troye gasped while instinctively arching into the touch.

“Just that I missed you while I was gone,” he continued breathlessly, tilting his head back when Tyler’s mouth moved towards his Adam’s apple, “and fatherhood looks really, _really_ good on you.”

“Is that so?” The smirk he wore was evident in Tyler’s voice, and Troye lowered his head to fix him with an intense stare as Tyler leaned away.

“You’re so fucking hot, d’you know that?”

Tyler gave a breathy laugh while Troye pulled at the hem of his t-shirt, lifting it and roughly pulling it over his head. Tyler barely had time to lift his arms to aid its removal. When the garment was gone, tossed somewhere behind Troye, Tyler slipped his hand down to grab Troye’s ass, one cheek fitting nicely in each hand.

The smile on his face grew into a smirk. “Well, since this is your way of telling me, I can’t say I mind all that much when you do.”

“Good,” he breathed, placing his hands on Tyler’s shoulders to make him lean back. Troye lifted up on his knees and inched closer while Tyler slid down in his seat until he was half lying down, guiding Troye forward. He held his length in his other hand, making Troye hover over it so that the tip touched his entrance. A tingle of arousal spread through Troye’s body at the sensation and he closed his eyes in anticipation. “Now shut up.”

He began pressing down, clutching Tyler’s shoulder with one hand and reaching up to his head with the other. He hissed at the sting when Tyler breached him and pulled Tyler’s head back sharply with the hand that was curled into his hair. Tyler grunted at the rough treatment, the tendons in his neck forming distinct lines up the sides of his throat.

Troye sank steadily lower, the muscles in his legs beginning to shake with the strain of moving so slowly. The moment hung suspended in the air, the only sound being their breathing – Tyler’s heavy and measured, Troye’s short and stilted. He kept his eyes closed, all his focus centered on the burn of the stretch. He could feel his own erection pulse with the beat of his heart, straining towards his stomach, as hard as he ever got. The way Tyler’s tip dragged heavily across Troye’s prostate already had him leaking steady droplets of clear liquid.

He moaned from deep in his throat, the noise escaping him more as a rumbling purr. A tremor ran the length of his spine and made the top of his head tingle, lifting every hair on his body along the way. His excitement was already reaching dangerous heights and Tyler wasn’t even all the way inside him yet.

Just as the thought had crossed his mind, he felt Tyler’s fingers start wrapping around his length. The touch sent a shock of pleasure shooting through him, and his muscles spasmed in warning of his impending completion.

Pulling a sharp breath in between his clenched teeth, he reached down and slapped Tyler’s hand away, opening heavy eyelids to look at him as if through a haze.

“Don’t! I wanna come like this.”

Tyler, whose head was now free of Troye’s grip, let it fall back against the backrest. His hand fell back to Troye’s ass, where he tightened his grip as he breathed, “ _Jesus_.”

Troye released a huff of exertion, his hand coming to rest in the center of Tyler’s chest as he let his head fall forward, sinking lower still, knowing that he was down to the last few inches. The curls of his hair fell in front of his closed eyes and his breath stuttered when he finally settled flush against Tyler’s hips. Tyler moaned in response, and Troye could feel his length twitch deep within him, making him give a short whimper. 

“You feel so good,” Troye whispered, his breath catching when Tyler lifted his hips as it made him sink just a tiny bit deeper inside. Making a slow, rotating movement with his hips, Troye whimpered again as Tyler’s hardness brushed his inner walls in a swivel.

He lifted his head with a deep inhalation, a shiver of pure sensual satisfaction making goosebumps spread over his arms and thighs.

“ _Fuck_ , so close…” he sighed on the exhaling breath and carefully ground his hips down again. He trailed his hands up Tyler’s chest to hold his shoulders once more as he slowly began moving on his lap, rolling forward and pressing back in an effort to create a deliciously burning friction.

One of Tyler’s hands lifted to settle in the middle of Troye’s back.

“Here, lean forward,” he rasped, gently urging Troye towards himself.

Troye did as told, letting his arms fold in to his own chest as he clung to Tyler and coming to rest with his forehead in the crook of Tyler’s neck. Tyler’s hands slid down further beneath his cheeks and held them tightly, holding Troye’s weight as he slowly began pulling out.

Troye’s breath stuttered as the pull on his flesh made thrills of heat rush towards the center of his arousal. He barely had time to cope with the heightened sensations before he was taken by surprise as Tyler bent his knees and gave a hard upward thrust.

Troye gasped sharply, his fingers curling into Tyler’s skin. He felt more than heard Tyler’s groan of pleasure as it traveled from his chest to Troye’s, all while he pulled out just as slowly once more.

Trusting up again, a bit faster this time, Tyler moaned when Troye more or less involuntarily clenched around him. Troye’s nerve endings tingled at Tyler’s rough reentry. As Tyler began pulling back again, Troye thanked his lucky stars that he didn’t have to say a word to let Tyler know that he liked what he was doing and to please continue, and _yes, oh god, right there_.

Tyler was moving a bit quicker with each stroke, finding and hitting Troye’s prostate within a few tries. Troye gave a closed-mouthed little yelp when he did.

“Fuck,” he huffed into the space between them, his breathing regulated more by Tyler’s thrusts than his own volition, the air pushed from his body faster than he could replenish it. 

Tyler allowed gravity to help him, as with his next thrust, he relinquished some of his hold on Troye’s body and had him drop down to meet him halfway. Troye moaned loudly, his entire body tremoring with how close he was to climaxing, the edge just a hair trigger away.

Tyler probably heard it in the noises he was making.

“Yeah? Almost there?” he crooned on strained little huffs of air, turning his head to breathe the words against Troye’s temple.

Troye nodded, his mind and body quickly passing the point where he could be expected to respond with anything more than small gestures. He felt Tyler give his temple an unexpectedly gentle kiss before he turned away again so that he could focus all his attention on Troye’s pleasure.

Still lifting and letting Troye fall just a slight distance back into his lap, Tyler gave a few more thrusts before the heat that was settling low in Troye’s belly started to finally grow too great to handle. He whimpered and dug his fingers into Tyler shoulders again to signal his impending climax.

Knowing he needed the angle to change just a tiny bit for him to be able to come untouched, Troye used his last remaining strength to push up from Tyler’s chest and into an upright position. In what seemed like an impossible feat with his muscles trembling the way they were, Troye lifted up from Tyler’s lap. Stars danced before his eyes and the pressure became overbearing, all sensation narrowing into a pinpoint in the time it took him to sit down sharply. A stuttering whimper left him as Tyler’s length dragged across his sweet spot.

With an open-mouthed groan, Troye’s body arched, his back going rigid as his orgasm hit him hard. It rolled over him in rushes of heat, breaking over his bones and crashing into his flesh, over and over again with the regularity of a tidal wave. His body clenched rhythmically around Tyler as his release shot up to paint his chest, and he knew the moment Tyler was pulled into his own completion by the catch in his breath, followed by the most decadent groan Troye had heard in a while.

The hands holding him ran up the plains of his perspiring back underneath his shirt, gripping his shoulder blades as Tyler shook. With a gasp, Troye was pulled forward and into Tyler’s arms, where warm lips awaited him, catching his mouth in a deep kiss. Tyler’s breath washed over his cheek in fast, warm bursts, all while his hands wandered Troye’s skin restlessly.

Troye moaned into the kiss, their tongues wrapping around and stroking each other in warm, slippery caresses that grew steadily slower with the diminishing beat of their hearts. His entire body felt like it was floating, the pleasure radiating out from his center to his limbs making him light-headed. As their pulse evened out more and more – their bodies occasionally shaking with aftershocks of release – the desperation in their kiss mellowed along with it.

Barely had they caught their breaths before a low wail rose somewhere off on the other side of the apartment, the sound slightly muffled by the half-closed door that stood between them and its source. Just as Troye and Tyler simultaneously stopped moving to listen, there was a short pause in the wailing sound, and they opened their eyes to look at each other.

Troye separated from Tyler’s lips with a little smack, and he lifted his head to share a knowing look with his boyfriend. They tried to stifle their breaths as they waited for the next part, which they knew would be coming any second. And sure enough, there it was: another cry, this one much longer and considerably louder than the first.

With a soft grunt, Troye sat up gingerly and lifted to let Tyler slip from his body. He hissed at the slight pull on his sore flesh and let his shoulders drop in relaxation when he sat back on Tyler’s legs again, lamenting the knack for timing that their little bundle of joy seemed to have. At least they’d gotten to finish this time…

“Your daughter’s calling for you,” he muttered as he stared tiredly at Tyler’s face, unable to muster the will or strength to move after letting his hands drop into his lap.

One of Tyler’s eyebrows lifted, his hands pausing in where they had been softly caressing Troye’s thighs. “I thought she was yours too?”

Troye hummed, nodding slightly as he looked off to the side in thought.

“The exceptions being on weeknights, when I’m working on my music, and when I’ve just finished riding you.” He tried to hold back a teasing smile when he focused back on Tyler, knowing it was probably showing in his eyes anyway.

All the while, the cries were getting a little bit stronger with each passing moment, and Troye could tell Tyler’s resistance to run to her aid was about to crumble. Daisy had him wrapped around her tiny little finger already, and Troye couldn’t wait to see Tyler steadily become her favorite dad – the one who would make silly faces at her over breakfast and keeping her from finishing her blueberry porridge because she would be laughing too hard, making Troye sigh in annoyance; the one who would buy her ice-cream in the park when Troye had already told her no; the one who would conduct stern interviews over the kitchen table with the boys she brought home when she became a teenager.

Tyler snorted. “Don’t even try to blame me for getting yourself into this...” He gave a small grin and patted one of Troye’s butt cheeks to get him to lift up. “But if this whole thing was a ruse to get me to take Daisy afterward, it’s working.”

Tyler’s grin grew wider, and Troye returned it with a gentle whack to his upper arm. “Rude. I told you it’s because I find you attractive.”

The teasing quality of his words mellowed the heat of his tone as he lifted up on one leg to allow Tyler to slide out from under him. Troye did half a spin to land with his back against the soft cushions with a sigh, watching while Tyler stood to put himself away in his sweatpants again before heading towards the nursery.

“Well, either way, you’re gonna have to learn to share me with that precious little lady, now,” Tyler winked back at Troye as he hooked his thumb at the nursery door.

Troye, who’d pulled one of the blankets over to cover himself, felt his smile go warmer in response. He blinked slowly as sudden sleepiness overcame him.

“Believe it or not, Tyler, I really don’t mind at all.”

-x-

The soft croon of a female alto poured into the dark room, gently lifting Tyler from his sleep. He breathed in deeply, turning onto his back and squinting his eyes open to let them adjust to the darkness. A clinking piano accompanied the voice, the notes high and tinny from the old recording. Even though the music was too low to make out entirely from where he was laying, Tyler knew the melody well enough to know what song was playing. It belonged on a record that had been repeated a fair few times in their household over the past couple of weeks or so.

He was alone in their big bed, the tousled sheets on the opposite side already cool to the touch, meaning that Troye got up a while ago. Tyler sat up slowly, reluctant to leave the heat of his soft covers, but also compelled to see if his boyfriend was doing okay. He knew it was probably a matter of the standard procedure of getting Daisy to fall back asleep after a diaper change or a feeding. It couldn’t hurt to check, though.

Shuffling out of bed and yawning, Tyler lifted the hem of his washed out t-shirt to scratch lazily at the small of his back. He only wore a shirt to bed during winter; even though one could argue that L.A. never really got cold, he still felt like it fitted the season to at least act like it got a bit nippier. If that also made him feel justified in getting that pair of amazing leather boots he’d bought himself as a Christmas gift too, he would never admit it.

As he stepped into the living room, his smile grew and his breath left him on a happy sigh at what he saw.

The room and its occupants were shrouded in darkness; the only light that aided Tyler’s sight was the little light in the displays of the record player and the blueish rays from the moon outside streaming in through the windows, lending it an almost dreamy quality.

Troye was standing in front of the small bookshelf where they kept the record player, rocking gently from side to side with his back turned to the open room. Tyler could see the top of Daisy’s head peeking out as it rested in the fold of Troye’s elbow, and Troye was looking at her while softly singing along to the song.

The music was clearer out there than it had been before, and Tyler smiled knowingly at Troye’s choice of artist. Ella Fitzgerald and her velvety smooth purr of a voice seemed to be the recipe for success when it came to putting their daughter to rest. They’d discovered it by accident while Troye went through a short jazz-phase, wanting to go back to basics in his song writing.

Silently stepping forward again, Tyler moved closer until he could slip his arms around Troye’s waist. Troye’s back stiffened slightly as he stopped moving, his head lifting to look back over his shoulder, a bit startled by Tyler’s touch before he relaxed once more.

Tyler leaned up and pecked his cheek lightly, hearing the contented little huff Troye gave through his nose as he closed his eyes and smiled in place of a greeting.

“She wasn’t having it after that last bottle,” Troye whispered, glancing at Tyler while rocking his arms up and down.

Tyler put his chin on Troye’s shoulder, gazing down at Daisy’s relaxed features, noticing that while she wasn’t yet asleep, she was getting there.

“Good thing she has a father who knows exactly what she needs, then.” He peeked back up at Troye from the corner of his eye, his smile stretching his closed lips.

Troye nodded in agreement. “Mm, I guess you’re right,” he hummed while gently starting to shift his weight from one foot to the other once more, making Tyler chuckle at his teasing.

Turning his head to give Troye’s neck a quick kiss, Tyler stepped to the side and round to Troye’s front, one of his hands trailing across his back as he went.

“I can take over if you want to get some sleep,” he whispered as he wrapped his other arm back around Troye’s middle. His eyes still on their daughter, he joined in the gentle sway and began to slowly move Troye into a turn. Troye glanced up at him, and Tyler met his gaze with encouragement.

At the start of their relationship and after having heard enough of Troye’s excuses for not being able to dance, Tyler had vowed to start teaching him, no matter how much Troye protested. It had taken a fair while, since it turned out Troye had a light case of the “two left feet”-condition that afflicted so many, but they had finally gotten to the point where he could make it through the basics without stepping on Tyler’s toes. 

Now, Tyler’s heart warmed at the little smile he got in return and felt the moment Troye decided to let himself be guided into a foxtrot, although mellowed and careful since they didn’t want to startle the almost-sleeping baby they held between them.

“That’s okay,” Troye answered as he returned to looking at Daisy, “this is nice.”

Unable to take his eyes away from Troye, Tyler felt his mood grow pensive for a moment while he thought back over the past few years of his life.

Although it hadn’t been more than going on three years since they’d met, it still seemed like such a long time ago when one considered all that had happened between then and now. Moving in together, getting a dog, having a baby… But at the same time, it might as well have been yesterday. It all just seemed so _adult_ , and Tyler wasn’t really sure when he’d stopped caring about making money and partying and started spending every waking moment making sure his family was cared for. _Family_.

Christ… If anyone would have asked him five years ago what he thought he’d be doing right this second, slow-dancing to Ella Fitzgerald with his boyfriend of many years while holding their four month old daughter would _not_ have been his first, or even his fifth guess.

 

Yet, there he was, and Tyler was pretty damn sure there was no other place on this earth that he’d rather be.

Lifting his hand to tuck a few stray dark curls back from Troye’s forehead, Tyler managed a smile when Troye lifted his gaze back to him to lighten the serious look he was sure had fallen over his features.

“You know, sometimes I catch myself wondering if I dreamt it all,” he whispered, his hand slowly trailing down to cup Troye’s cheek.

At Troye’s questioning look, he went on, stroking his thumb over a sharp cheekbone, “It’s just that I can hardly believe my luck in finding you, and not only that, but also somehow knowing what to do to keep you around.” He paused to think for a moment before grinning. “Which is still something I struggle to understand how I managed.”

Troye’s smile widened into something a little bit more toothy, but he kept quiet, seeming to understand that Tyler had more to add.

“Even so, I do know that there’s nothing in the world I love more than you, our girls… this little family…” Tyler had to stop to swallow the lump that suddenly filled his throat, trying not to focus on the shiny quality that Troye’s eyes took on at his words. “You are all I could have ever asked for, but never knew I needed, and when I think about you, the love that fills me lets me know I’m not dreaming.”

He knew he was sounding extremely sappy at the moment, and he also knew that his old self would have made some kind of crude joke to lighten the mood, but Tyler neither cared nor focused on any of that right now. All he could see was the look of adoration in Troye’s eyes and the slight tremble to his smile, as if he was holding back emotions of his own.

“You’re not dreaming,” Troye whispered and leaned forward to give Tyler a sweet, lingering kiss.

The day after, Troye fluttered about the apartment with Juniper excitedly running around his heels while he anxiously tried to sort everything that Sawyer and Angelique could need while babysitting Daisy for the night. He and Tyler were going out for an impromptu dinner that they’d decided on earlier that morning while dancing in the living room… a detail they had left out while explaining their urgent need for a sitter when Sawyer had asked.

In the meantime, Tyler stayed out of the way, finding a calm corner to sit with Daisy in the nursery while they waited for Troye to finish. He was blowing raspberries while poking gently at Daisy’s round little belly, laughing when Daisy gurgled in satisfaction. Little bubbles of spittle formed around her mouth, causing her terrycloth bib to get slowly drenched as her production of saliva seemed to be never ending with the teething she was doing lately.

Dabbing gently at her chin with a soft cloth, Tyler glanced through the open door to the living room and saw Troye disappear towards kitchen on the far end of the room. Resting Daisy on his knee where he sat in one of the tiny chairs at her table set, he dug around his pocket for the little box he had put there when Troye wasn’t watching.

The black covering of the box was velvety to the touch, and Tyler stroked it with his thumb before pulling it out and opening the lid with the aid of his chin. Turning it so that its contents where aimed toward his daughter, Tyler held it aloft in front of her face while he schooled his features.

“So, what do you think? Is it nice enough?” he asked quietly, not wanting his voice to carry too far in case Troye would be able to hear him. He turned the box to look at the shining gold band sitting in the silky, plum colored pillow inside, with three discreet little stones lowered into its polished surface. 

“I guess it’s okay,” he mused, taking Daisy’s merry bubble-making as agreement. “I have been saving it for a long time now, waiting for the right opportunity to present itself...”

He paused and looked back at Daisy’s smiling face. “Do you think it’s the right opportunity?” He glanced back down at the ring. “You don’t think he’ll say ‘no’, do you?” Daisy gurgled some more and gave him a wide, toothless grin.

“You’re right,” Tyler smiled back, “he won’t be able to resist.”

With a smacking kiss to Daisy’s chubby cheek, Tyler snapped the lid shut on the ring box and put it back inside his pocket. Rising from his low seat, he swung Daisy up in a careful lift above his head before catching her back into his arms and walking out of his hiding place to where his past, his present, and his future waited for him.

 

—

FIN


End file.
